For the longest time, the tax lien investment business — in which investors buy property tax liens from cities and counties and then collect on the debt (or foreclose on the homeowner) — primarily consisted of small, local investors looking for a relatively quick profit. But in the last two decades, larger companies have taken to buying up as many liens as possible and then shaking down homeowners for the debt and often thousands of dollars in fees. But just because these lien-buyers are bigger and operate in multiple states doesn’t mean they are any more legitimate. [More]
tax liens
Report: City Screw-Ups Put Thousands Of D.C. Homeowners At Risk For Foreclosure
By 9.10.13 — Updated: 12.9.13
We’ve written several articles over the years about how a small unpaid property tax or public utility bill can result in homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure, but a new investigative report from the Washington Post shows how systemic ineptitude in Washington, D.C., city offices has repeatedly left homeowners fighting against liens that shouldn’t exist in the first place. [More]
How Does Someone Lose Their House Over A $474 Water Bill?
By 7.10.12
If a homeowner has to make a choice between paying their mortgage or paying a tax or public utility bill, they might feel like the mortgage is the obvious way to go, lest they lose their house. But the fact is that you may be putting your property at risk by missing any of these payments. [More]
