The Arizona Republic: Arizona counties can take your home to pay a small tax debt, even if it’s unconstitutional

Patricia Miller lost her childhood home in 2010 over only $808 in unpaid property taxes.

The mortgage had been paid off many years before, when Patricia’s father, Devoe Poleeson, owned the small Phoenix home.

But less than a thousand dollars of unpaid property taxes was all the government needed to sell the tax debt — and the power to foreclose on the home — to a private investor.

That’s because Arizona law allows counties to sell tax liens on delinquent properties to private investors, who can foreclose on the property three years after a sale.

Investors get to keep all the equity, leaving the homeowner with nothing.

To continue reading this op-ed, visit The Arizona Republic.