Tax Delinquency Eviction

[MarilynLV]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MA

My uncle is 89 years old and blind. He also is reclusive beyond belief. He lives with my 53 year old developmentally disabled cousin. There is one daughter, but she is on disability for mental illness and lives in specialized housing.

Nobody in our family spoke to them for decades, at their choice. All we heard from them, was that my aunt (my mom's sister) passed away in 1987.

My uncle inherited a three family house, as the landlady had no heirs and surprisingly, he had run errands, etc for her.

He lived in one apartment and kept the others vacant so he wouldn't have to deal with anyone.


One day my mom got a frantic phone call from the daughter, saying the city was going to take the house for non payment of taxes. In reality, the city already owned the house. Short of coming up with 61,000, there was nothing anyone could do. (Shall I mention how gleeful the city employee was at writing down that figure? She even put an exclamation mark).

Months later, we heard that the city literally used a battering ram to break down the (barricaded door) and take them out. Fortunately, the city found them a place in senior citizen/handicapped housing. I spoke to one of the city workers who knocked down the door and he said the experience was "just awful" for my relatives.

Unfortunately, the city only allowed them to take "one truckload" of possessions. Three floors and forty years worth of furniture, household possessions and memorabilia were left behind.

I went yesterday to an open house for the tax auction and the place is completely trashed. Someone even stole the molding! Anything of value is gone.

Yes, I do have a question: I heard, in MA, when you are evicted by a landlord, they have to take your possessions to a storage facility, where you have to pay to retrieve it.

If this is true, is a tax eviction held to the same standard?


By the way, what was once an occupied home is now a boarded up wreck on a residential street.

Yes, he SHOULD have paid the taxes, but could have gotten an abatement for being elderly and blind.


Sorry this is so long and involved, but I'm still unnerved from seeing the state of that house.

The whole thing is awful.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

No offense but where were the so-called loving family members of this poor old guy and this developmentally disabled cousin?

Even after family members got the information that the house was lost due to owed taxes (and $61,000 in owed taxes is quite a few YEARS of owed taxes) family members appear to have sat on their rear ends and never lifted a finger to get these folks out and into a more appropriate living situation. It was up to the city to "find" these sad folks new living quarters.

Now you're complaining because you went to the open house for the tax auction (what..you were now interested in getting your hands on the house for a cheap rate?) and everything was gone. What a surprise! You are now upset because everything "of value" is gone? Can't get your hands on anything you believe you are owed?

Yes; he SHOULD have paid the taxes. But it appears he should have also picked a better extended family.

Gail

 

[MarilynLV]

Gail What an interesting assumption, I am in no position to buy the house, nor would I want to. I don't owe you an explanation, but for any other readers, I will give the details.

When my aunt (my mother's sister) was alive, we would call and call and ask to speak to her. When my uncle or the daughter answered the phone, they would hang up. Nobody else ever answered the phone. This was in the 60's and early 70's.

In more recent years, they had no phone. We would go over and simply shout up at the second floor windows hoping someone would come out, but to no avail.

When the daughter moved into subsidized handicapped housing several years ago, she started contacting my mom. She never mentioned any of this.

Why would we find them a more appropriate living situation? It was their house. They owned it. They lived there for nearly 40 years. They never spoke to us. We tried to talk to them. Once I went over and stuffed videotapes into their mail slot because the daughter said they liked them. I left a note. We come from a culture that keeps secrets like you wouldn't believe. My uncle was born in the old country.

I cannot adequately convey how reclusive this man is. How do you talk to someone who doesn't want to talk to you? The one family member he would talk to (my mom's brother) passed away in 1983.

I tried to intervene on their behalf, even calling Legal Aid, but to no avail.

As for the contents of the house, I wanted to retrieve my mom's wedding photos from 1950 (at her request) and check to see what remained, for the benefit of my two cousins.

I had to take the bus home by the way, so taking anything other than the photos was not an option, nor my intention. I did take a crucifix and crumbling rosary beads, but only because I couldn't bear to leave them. I asked the city worker and he said it was okay.

We could only act upon what we knew of he situation. If we had known, we'd have made sure he had gotten the proper abatements. Also, other people in this situation are helped (by the city) to get reverse mortgages.

We just never knew.

Gail, thank you though, for giving me the opportunity to further enlighten people.

Perhaps someone has some useful information on the subject at hand.

 

[Cvillecpm]

Ditto Gail - go to the house and check on your relatives. USPS mail carriers are now being tasked with checking on the elderly when their mail goes un collected which is a HORRIBLE comment on our society.

The "city" and handicapped agencies dropped the ball and should be ashamed as should the family members who knew of their mental and physical limitations and did nothing!!!

This would not happen in the South....

 

[MarilynLV]

For my personal edification, please tell me what efforts I could have taken to contact someone who does not want to be contacted?

 

[ecmst12]

More to the point of what you were asking, the personal belongings were likely seized in accordance with the tax lein, in a totally legal way. Uncle Sam has many ways of getting his money.

 

[Cvillecpm]

Go to the door and knock!~!