Judge rules it is OK to sell widow's home over $6 bill

[highland145]

A better description would be that the Judge refused to REVERSE the legal sale of someone's home because the amount they owed was small. The judge would have no power to do this.

The real dick move was the county deciding to auction the house to begin with, not the judge upholding the legality of the auction.

Pretty much this. Too bad we don't know if she told them to eff off, she's still messed up because of the husband's death or if she's not the brightest bulb in the box.

And the process probably was automated.

 

[highland145]

I can't imagine the work required to sell the home was worth $6.30.

Sold for $100K+ of which she will get most. The county will deduct it's fees 1st.

 

[Vic]

Could you imagine the outrage if a bank foreclosed over $6?

 

[brycejones]

Could you imagine the outrage if a bank foreclosed over $6?

It's ok to be outraged, I share it. Just that directing the rage at the judge is the wrong place to direct it.

 

[TerryMathews]

Show the proof

"a notice of sale was sent by first class mail and was not returned."

First class is not certified

I had state of Illinois pull the same shit.

They sent notices that I owed $27,000 to an address I haven't had in Oklahoma since 2008 even though they had my Illinois address.

I never got a single notice because they sent them by regular mail.

They also claimed I got them because they didn't come back.

What a load of bullcrap.

"Beaver County Common Pleas Judge Gus Kwidis wrote that the county tax claim bureau complied with notification requirements in state law before the auction." From the OP article.

Furthermore, from http://www.reageradlerpc.com/articl...ate_Investing_Understanding_PA_Tax_Sales.aspx

" By no later than July 31st of each year, the Tax Claim Bureau gives notice to each delinquent taxpayer by registered or certified mail, return receipt, postage prepaid, addressed to the owners, at the address listed on the tax duplicate of the entry of the claim. If notice is not delivered by the post office, then it must be posted on the property."

I'm not going to dig through PA's state law, but this mirrors RESTA so there's no realistic reason to think it's wrong.

Care to continue playing, often wrong?

 

[Vic]

It's ok to be outraged, I share it. Just that directing the rage at the judge is the wrong place to direct it.

I completely agree. What I'd like to know is who won the bid at sale.

 

[Jaskalas]

This is bureaucracy. Draconian laws that require the destruction of innocent people.

 

[TerryMathews]

So to those of you who think this is wrong:

1) How do you propose the government collect from an uncooperative person

2) How much is enough before its OK to foreclose?

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Something doesn't add up here. One article say $6.30 and then another says she owes more than $20,000 in back taxes/penalties.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...sylvania-widow-loses-home-6-tax-lien/8432411/

Tax records show that as of last week she has an outstanding balance of more than $20,000, including penalties and interest, for county, municipal and school taxes from 2009 to 2013.

 

[TerryMathews]

Something doesn't add up here. One article say $6.30 and then another says she owes more than $20,000 in back taxes/penalties.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...sylvania-widow-loses-home-6-tax-lien/8432411/

My guess would be that other agencies saw it went to sale and wanted to collect their owed monies from the proceeds.

 

[glenn1]

I can't imagine the work required to sell the home was worth $6.30.

It is when it's done so that an investor who already owns 20 houses in the county can buy it for cheap. Per court documents the buyer is S.P. Lewis and a search of the county database under that name shows the foreclosure (search at link below for name "BATTISTI,ANTHONY" and select record for 118 Rosewood Dr") and you can find the property records associated with buyer via search term "S.P. Lewis".

http://www.beavercountypa.gov/tax-claim-search

Here's the pertinent information from the court documents. Certainly seems to me like the relevant authorities made no serious efforts to notify her before the sale or help her at any stage of the process. It seems relatively clear to me that there was either active collusion to help the property investor in the area who bought her house, or that they passively didn't interfere with the process allowing him to profit from it.

The essential facts on tax payments made for the tax years 2008 and 2009 are not in dispute. In March of 2009, the Central Valley School District notified the Tax Claim Bureau of an unpaid school tax on the Property in the amount of $833.88 plus a $42.01 penalty. A $15.00 entry fee was added to that amount by the Tax Claim Bureau for a total of $890.89. On April 1, 2009, interest for one month in the amount of $6.30 was added, which brought the total claim for the Property’s 2008 school taxes to $897.19. On May 1, 2009, another $6.30 interest charge was added, raising the total to $903.49. On May 7, 2009, the Tax Claim Bureau received a payment from Taxpayer in the amount of $897.19. The Tax Claim Bureau credited that amount to the Taxpayer’s account, leaving a remaining balance of $6.30 owing for the interest added when she did not pay by May 1, 2009.

On June 3, 2009, the Tax Claim Bureau sent Taxpayer a “notice of return and claim” that identified 2008 delinquent taxes in the amount of $6.30, plus postage and costs for a total of $28.25. The notice was returned to the Tax Claim Bureau as unclaimed. It is not clear if this notice functioned as a receipt or an invoice. No further notices, apparently, were sent to Taxpayer.

In April of 2010, Beaver County and Central Valley School District notified the Tax Claim Bureau of 2009 unpaid taxes on the Property. The unpaid Beaver County tax was $1,184.37 and a $118.44 penalty; the unpaid Central Valley School District tax was $2,324 and a $116.09 penalty. On June 3, 2010, the Tax Claim Bureau notified Taxpayer that she owed $3,832.71 for her 2009 real estate taxes, including interest and costs. On July 2, 2010, the Tax Claim Bureau sent a certified notice to Taxpayer that added interest, raising the total to $3,990.03. On September 11, 2010, the Tax Claim Bureau received a check from Taxpayer in the amount of $3,990.03, and it was applied to Taxpayer’s 2009 county and school taxes.

There remained an unpaid balance of $234.72 for the 2008 school taxes. This amount was based upon the $6.30 interest imposed when the tax payment was six days late and then grew with accruing interest and costs. On September 12, 2011, Taxpayer’s Property was sold at an upset tax sale for collection of the unpaid balance of $234.72 owing on Taxpayer’s 2008 school taxes.

 

[Knowing]

I can't imagine the work required to sell the home was worth $6.30.

You can't even buy an hour of minimum wage labor for $6.30 so I think it's a pretty safe bet that the work that went in to the sale cost more than the revenue to the county.

In a similar vein, a gentlemen in Louisiana had a house on his investment property demolished for no reason by no one while he was getting supplies or some such.

 

[Darwin333]

Choosing to ignore your mail does not relieve you of your legal responsibilities.

Aren't banks required to send certified mail and affix notices to your property before they foreclose? Hell aren't landlords required to do the same thing just to evict someone?

I would think that at least 2 attempted certified mail attempts to the property in question would be the very least that they should do before selling someones property.

This is one reason why, although I agree with the need for taxation, I don't agree with property taxes. You never actually "own" your property. People on fixed incomes lost their homes, homes they lived in and owned for decades, here recently due to reassessments. Ironically it was the housing boom that caused the values to skyrocket so much and today the property is worth far less than the previously assessed value that the owner couldn't afford the taxes on. Since it was in fact a bubble the house was never truly "worth" what it was assessed at.

 

[glenn1]

That's the city council not the county. Care to try again?

Sure, for Beaver County it's:

County Council Chairman: Tony Amadio, Democrat
County Council: Joe Spanik, Democrat
County Council: Dennis Nichols, Republican
Clerk of Courts, Judy Enslen, Democrat
Controller, David A. Rossi, Democrat
Coroner, Teri Tatalovich-Rossi, Democrat
District Attorney, Anthony Berosh, Democrat
Prothonotary, Nancy Werme, Democrat
Recorder of Deeds, Janice Jeschke Beall, Democrat
Register of Wills, Carol Fiorucci, Democrat
Sheriff, George David, Democrat
Treasurer, Connie Javens, Democrat

Must be that Dennis Nichols guy who's responsible, the bastard.

 

[Darwin333]

So to those of you who think this is wrong:

1) How do you propose the government collect from an uncooperative person

Garnish wages, bank accounts, lien on the property, etc...

2) How much is enough before its OK to foreclose?

I dunno, 10% of the properties value at least? $6.30 isn't worth the .govs effort taking any action much less taking someones house.

 

[CLite]

This is one reason why, although I agree with the need for taxation, I don't agree with property taxes. You never actually "own" your property. People on fixed incomes lost their homes, homes they lived in and owned for decades, here recently due to reassessments. Ironically it was the housing boom that caused the values to skyrocket so much and today the property is worth far less than the previously assessed value that the owner couldn't afford the taxes on. Since it was in fact a bubble the house was never truly "worth" what it was assessed at.

You have to live in a pretty fucked up area that a housing boom would affect what you pay in property taxes. At least in NJ your property tax rate fluctuates, i.e. if properties increase in value the tax rate will decrease such that the budget is exactly met. If property values decrease the tax rate increases. This means housing crashes don't suddenly cause schools to become underfunded and on the other end housing booms don't increase budgets 2 fold. Our town just got an adjustment that had a ~four-fold increase in property values (was stagnant since the 80's), of course our rate plummeted by 4 fold as well.

 

[PokerGuy]

It's bad enough when banks abuse the little guy, but at least sometimes there is recourse. When it's the government that abuses this person, she has no recourse and is simply screwed. Foreclosing over $6 is absurd, whoever made that decision should be fired immediately because they obviously have no ability to apply logical thinking.

I don't blame the judge. In fact, I applaud the judge for not engaging in judicial activism and applying the law as written. If the law is messed up, it needs to be changed.

 

[werepossum]

I agree with this mostly, but there would need to be some limit. Some people in this world are experts at dodging servers. I don't know what the exact procedures are, but I also think that a large, notice affixed to the door of the property or something to that effect (in addition to mailings) would serve as adequate notice as well.

Really though, the thing is here is that whoever pursued the foreclosure auction was the person being a dick. For the judge to overturn a legal sale because the county was a dick, but acting legally, is not the right thing to do.

Agreed. A big-ass notice nailed to the front door works for me.

Could you imagine the outrage if a bank foreclosed over $6?

Agreed, but

It's ok to be outraged, I share it. Just that directing the rage at the judge is the wrong place to direct it.

this.

 

[Sonikku]

If anything, we should take it a step further. Instead of paying taxes on things like houses that you've already bought every year, you should pay taxes on your television and your computer and your phone and your car and everything else you own each year as well because you don't really own it. The revenue we generate would give us all we need to alleviate the tax burden on the job creators creating all the jobs.

 

[Slew Foot]

Im betting some asshole related to the city council biught the property.

 

[BoberFett]

Sure, for Beaver County it's:

County Council Chairman: Tony Amadio, Democrat
County Council: Joe Spanik, Democrat
County Council: Dennis Nichols, Republican
Clerk of Courts, Judy Enslen, Democrat
Controller, David A. Rossi, Democrat
Coroner, Teri Tatalovich-Rossi, Democrat
District Attorney, Anthony Berosh, Democrat
Prothonotary, Nancy Werme, Democrat
Recorder of Deeds, Janice Jeschke Beall, Democrat
Register of Wills, Carol Fiorucci, Democrat
Sheriff, George David, Democrat
Treasurer, Connie Javens, Democrat

Must be that Dennis Nichols guy who's responsible, the bastard.

Newell Shitstain will no doubt be back with a witty retort regarding Republicans or the 1%.

 

[highland145]

Im betting some asshole related to the city council biught the property.

I'd imagine it was an open sale. Anyone could have bought it.

 

[dennilfloss]

Looks like throwing the baby with the bath water... Why did the county sell the house instead of just selling, say, a chair or some other item in the house for $6.30 to pay what she owes?

 

[Oldgamer]

4-29-2014

http://news.yahoo.com/ok-sell-widows-home-over-6-bill-judge-195937984.html

Judge rules it is OK to sell widow's home over $6 bill

A widow was given ample notice before her $280,000 house was sold at a tax auction three years ago over $6.30 in unpaid interest, a Pennsylvania judge has ruled.




The decision last week turned down Eileen Battisti's request to reverse the September 2011 sale of her home outside Aliquippa in western Pennsylvania.


"I paid everything, and didn't know about the $6.30," Battisti said. "For the house to be sold just because of $6.30 is crazy."


Joe Askar, Beaver County's chief solicitor, said the judge got the decision right, based on the law.


"The county never wants to see anybody lose their home, but at the same time the tax sale law, the tax real estate law, doesn't give a whole lot of room for error, either," Askar said.

You have to wonder what the hell is going on in this Judges mind. This really is a pathetic ruling.

 

[glenn1]

You have to wonder what the hell is going on in this Judges mind. This really is a pathetic ruling.

Sounds like the correct ruling per the law. You can't fault the judge for a poor law or one unjustly applied by the government.