In 2 days I will be homeless...

[2nd_city_saint787]

Can you do what Badger suggested? Best wishes.

 

I am unsure at this point. I will find out more tomorrow and hope that it isn't too late.

 

Went ahead and made a gofundme. I know none of you know me but like Rock said, I guess you never know... Save my house....

 

Any suggestions on helping market it?

 

Maybe its just the fact that I've always been poor, but 10k just sounds insurmountable in the time given.

 

I'm exhausted and can pass out any minute now so if I don't get back to you, I apologize.

 

I wanna thank everyone who has replied to this. Took a lot for me to do it, and I'm glad this board is filled with such great people. Again thank you.

Edited September 3, 2015 by scs787

[greg775]

I am unsure at this point. I will find out more tomorrow and hope that it isn't too late.

 

Went ahead and made a gofundme. I know none of you know me but like Rock said, I guess you never know... Save my house....

 

Any suggestions on helping market it?

 

Maybe its just the fact that I've always been poor, but 10k just sounds insurmountable in the time given.

 

I'm exhausted and can pass out any minute now so if I don't get back to you, I apologize.

 

I wanna thank everyone who has replied to this. Took a lot for me to do it, and I'm glad this board is filled with such great people. Again thank you.

Take a chance and send it to WGN News and all the news stations. Just say here's a modern day story of a guy trying to save his family's residence with not much time to spare. Say that if there any rich guy's with a heart you will pay them back someday. I'd quickly send your website info to "have a story idea" buttons on the various news websites.

[cabiness42]

If there is some way you can get an extension beyond tomorrow, there is one option for coming up with $10k somewhat quickly.

 

Prosper and Lending Club give out unsecured loans to people with marginal credit. The interest rate will probably be pretty high, but it beats losing your house.

 

 

[RockRaines]

Take a chance and send it to WGN News and all the news stations. Just say here's a modern day story of a guy trying to save his family's residence with not much time to spare. Say that if there any rich guy's with a heart you will pay them back someday. I'd quickly send your website info to "have a story idea" buttons on the various news websites.

One of my friends is a WGN anchor, I can forward the story to her on FB if you post it in the soxtalk page

[2nd_city_saint787]

We are waiting to get a call back from the treasury. From all I've heard it is unlikely we get an extension but that is certainly the hope right now.

 

I grew up with The Reeders of Reeder Realities and they have given me some info. They are trying to look around to find someone who would be willing to do a quick loan with my house as collateral.

 

It does sound like we can doing something along the lines of what Badger but there's nothing we can do until it goes up for auction.

 

I can type out a story but to be quite honest. The deadline is in less than 8 hours and I have little hope.

 

I'm hoping because it took so long for the reverse mortgage they show some mercy and give us more time to settle.

 

If my friend at Reeder reality is correct there will be some time before we have to leave the house so at least there's that. I guess he is also a politician these days and he said if someone shows up telling us we gotta go right the moment I can just call him and talk things through.

 

I know this post is jumping all over the place but yeah, a lot on my plate right now.

 

[Chisoxfn]

One other point, I think as you do this, especially as you reach out to other organizations, you want to make sure you spend some time talking with your mom and getting a full understanding of all the facts. Is the 10K in back taxes because of fees and penalties mounting up, are their ways to get those waived (I know all the time their are people who negotiate down and settle with the government and pay very little fees) as I would think the actual property taxes on the property (given the $25K appraisal) would be far less than the $10K and the $10K is really driven by all of the penalties of fine.

 

I don't know what the state tax property rates are, but if the property was valued at $25K (not sure what the tax appraised value is as that could be different) and the tax rate is 1% (that happens to be basically the base rate in California, not certain about Indiana), your annual tax rate is $250. So even if taxes weren't paid for 20 years, you are talking $5K (excluding penalties, etc). I would think you might have ability to negotiate a significantly reduced settlement where government ultimately gets its fair share of the taxes and you could keep your home. This is presuming their isn't some other assessment or lien that is driving that amount. But if the amount is $10K and taxes hadn't been paid for 5 or 10 years, then the bulk of that amount is penalties and penalties are usually easier to get negotiated.

 

I would make sure you have all that data handy, what is really factoring into the $10K and be at the county's office or whoever handles this stuff and ask for an stay in the auction and start to work to negotiate. I also would think their are legal services which could help (although you have to be careful of not finding some con artist / scammer out their either). But I would think their are multiple avenues if it is purely back taxes on the property (and the property is ultimately worth more then those back taxes).

[RegionSox]

One other point, I think as you do this, especially as you reach out to other organizations, you want to make sure you spend some time talking with your mom and getting a full understanding of all the facts. Is the 10K in back taxes because of fees and penalties mounting up, are their ways to get those waived (I know all the time their are people who negotiate down and settle with the government and pay very little fees) as I would think the actual property taxes on the property (given the $25K appraisal) would be far less than the $10K and the $10K is really driven by all of the penalties of fine.

 

I don't know what the state tax property rates are, but if the property was valued at $25K (not sure what the tax appraised value is as that could be different) and the tax rate is 1% (that happens to be basically the base rate in California, not certain about Indiana), your annual tax rate is $250. So even if taxes weren't paid for 20 years, you are talking $5K (excluding penalties, etc). I would think you might have ability to negotiate a significantly reduced settlement where government ultimately gets its fair share of the taxes and you could keep your home. This is presuming their isn't some other assessment or lien that is driving that amount. But if the amount is $10K and taxes hadn't been paid for 5 or 10 years, then the bulk of that amount is penalties and penalties are usually easier to get negotiated.

 

I would make sure you have all that data handy, what is really factoring into the $10K and be at the county's office or whoever handles this stuff and ask for an stay in the auction and start to work to negotiate. I also would think their are legal services which could help (although you have to be careful of not finding some con artist / scammer out their either). But I would think their are multiple avenues if it is purely back taxes on the property (and the property is ultimately worth more then those back taxes).

The state of Indiana passed an amendment awhile back where property tax is capped at 1%. Property taxes are a bit odd in northern lake county because the Mills and BP used to pay quite a bit in tax and homeowners paid just a little. Then in the early 2000s, they changed the rate on industry and the homeowners taxes shot way up. I've heard of people going from owing a couple hundred one year to about 1200 the next year. The cap came in to fix this.

[2nd_city_saint787]

Fees and penalties are what killed us. For the past year so we have been paying what we could but we just couldn't get out of the deficit so the fees continued to pile up.

 

I'm hoping when call back they allow me to talk on behalf of my mother. She just always takes things for what they are and doesn't negotiate. She's VERY religious.

[2nd_city_saint787]

The state of Indiana passed an amendment awhile back where property tax is capped at 1%. Property taxes are a bit odd in northern lake county because the Mills and BP used to pay quite a bit in tax and homeowners paid just a little. Then in the early 2000s, they changed the rate on industry and the homeowners taxes shot way up. I've heard of people going from owing a couple hundred one year to about 1200 the next year. The cap came in to fix this.

 

Ours is/was at 2100. I'm not sure if that is with penalties or what.

[Chisoxfn]

Ours is/was at 2100. I'm not sure if that is with penalties or what.

Per year property tax is 2100? Or was that including other items? If property taxes are caped at 1% (as Region pointed out), then that would indicate they are taxing the property based upon an assessed value of $210K (if my mental calculator is right). I think you need to find out how to talk on behalf of your mom and get the breakout of the taxes (actual taxes) vs. penalties, etc. Someone should be able to get you that info and then you at least have all the facts when you arm yourself for various discussions. I think if you know what actual taxes are and can say, okay, actual amount owed is $2500...we will give you a lump sum of x and then pay the rest back over 12 months or something and you might have some ammo.

 

As I mentioned, could help to get a real estate attorney involved as well (might even be able to find someone who does pro bono work).

[2nd_city_saint787]

Per year property tax is 2100?

 

Excuse me, 1900, and yes. That is without penalties.

 

950 in May and 950 in November.

 

 

[Chisoxfn]

Excuse me, 1900, and yes. That is without penalties.

 

950 in May and 950 in November.

Okay so something isn't adding up in terms of the actual appraisal on the home then. You are paying property taxes based upon a home with an assessed value of $190K where as the appraisal you got was only 25K. If you home is really worth $25K (vs. $190K), I think you guys have to have some conversations with the county on what the right value is and provide them with relevant comps, etc, to reduce the assessed value and then reach a settelement on the taxes. Or was it more on the reverse equity, they appraised the home at 250K, but were only going to give a line of up to 10% of the homes equity, and thus the line was at 25K (250K x 10%).

 

I am totally not familiar with Indiana state law but in California the assessed property value can go up 2% per year (capped at that amount) but in a downturn, you can submit for reappraisals of the value to lower you basis. I presume similar logic applies in Indiana.

[RegionSox]

You can check the assessed value of your home on the Lake County assessors page

https://www.lakecountyin.org/portal/group/a...or/page/default

[2nd_city_saint787]

Here is what we are dealing with.

 

Assessed Value And Tax Summary 2014 Pay 2015

1a. Gross Assessed Value (AV) of homestead property (capped at 1%) 0

1b. Gross AV of residential property and farmland (capped at 2%) 60,000

1c. Gross AV of all other property, including personal property (capped at 3%) 0

2. Equals Total Gross Assessed Value of Property 60,000

2a. Minus Deductions (See Table 5 Below) - 0

3. Equals Subtotal of Net Assessed Value of Property 60,000

3a. Multiplied by Your Local Tax Rate 4.9571

4. Equals Gross Tax Liability (See Table 3 Below) 2,974.26

4a. Minus Local Property Tax Credits - 377.16

4b. Minus Savings Due to Property Tax Cap (See Table 2 Below) - 717.52

4c. Minus Savings Due to 65 Years & Older Cap - 0.00

5. Total Property Tax Liability 1,879.58

 

When we moved in the property was appraised at 60,000.

 

 

[RegionSox]

Here is what we are dealing with.

 

Assessed Value And Tax Summary 2014 Pay 2015

1a. Gross Assessed Value (AV) of homestead property (capped at 1%) 0

1b. Gross AV of residential property and farmland (capped at 2%) 60,000

1c. Gross AV of all other property, including personal property (capped at 3%) 0

2. Equals Total Gross Assessed Value of Property 60,000

2a. Minus Deductions (See Table 5 Below) - 0

3. Equals Subtotal of Net Assessed Value of Property 60,000

3a. Multiplied by Your Local Tax Rate 4.9571

4. Equals Gross Tax Liability (See Table 3 Below) 2,974.26

4a. Minus Local Property Tax Credits - 377.16

4b. Minus Savings Due to Property Tax Cap (See Table 2 Below) - 717.52

4c. Minus Savings Due to 65 Years & Older Cap - 0.00

5. Total Property Tax Liability 1,879.58

 

When we moved in the property was appraised at 60,000.

 

From that, it looks like the cap is at 2% because you don't have a homestead exemption.

 

[Chisoxfn]

Here is what we are dealing with.

 

Assessed Value And Tax Summary 2014 Pay 2015

1a. Gross Assessed Value (AV) of homestead property (capped at 1%) 0

1b. Gross AV of residential property and farmland (capped at 2%) 60,000

1c. Gross AV of all other property, including personal property (capped at 3%) 0

2. Equals Total Gross Assessed Value of Property 60,000

2a. Minus Deductions (See Table 5 Below) - 0

3. Equals Subtotal of Net Assessed Value of Property 60,000

3a. Multiplied by Your Local Tax Rate 4.9571

4. Equals Gross Tax Liability (See Table 3 Below) 2,974.26

4a. Minus Local Property Tax Credits - 377.16

4b. Minus Savings Due to Property Tax Cap (See Table 2 Below) - 717.52

4c. Minus Savings Due to 65 Years & Older Cap - 0.00

5. Total Property Tax Liability 1,879.58

 

When we moved in the property was appraised at 60,000.

I would think the property tax cap at 2% would mean that you would owe 1200 per year (vs. what they are coming up with). I also would think in this case you are talking about a homestead property (isn't that a home that you live in as a personal residence)? I absolutely think you need to talk with the tax people as it sounds like you have issues their. In terms of the taxes, do you know roughly when you stopped paying (i.e., how many years it has been, so you can get a gauge as to the amount that is back taxes vs. amount that is penalties).

 

I presume you guys aren't getting the homestead exemption because someone didn't fill out paperwork. I know I get some stupid form from time to time and have to mail back in confirming we are primary residence in our personal property (again, this is in California).

[Chisoxfn]

I would think the property tax cap at 2% would mean that you would owe 1200 per year (vs. what they are coming up with). I also would think in this case you are talking about a homestead property (isn't that a home that you live in as a personal residence)? I absolutely think you need to talk with the tax people as it sounds like you have issues their. In terms of the taxes, do you know roughly when you stopped paying (i.e., how many years it has been, so you can get a gauge as to the amount that is back taxes vs. amount that is penalties).

 

I presume you guys aren't getting the homestead exemption because someone didn't fill out paperwork. I know I get some stupid form from time to time and have to mail back in confirming we are primary residence in our personal property (again, this is in California).

By the way SCS, that should be good news in and of itself (although I don't know how the county will react to applying that homestead exception on a retro basis) but in theory, that means whatever the amount you owe is, should at a minimum be cut in half as you've been taxed twice what you should have been. I presume you guys can show support that you have maintained the house as a primary residence that entire time (and thus would qualify for the homestead exemption) and would think state would eventually correct (especially if you got a little media swell behind it).

 

Talk about how a family would lose a home they've had for 75 years because they didn't fill the paperwork properly and qualify for the homestead exemption, etc. Plus the smaller the actual amount owed is, I presume the more likely the county backs off / pushes back the event.

 

PS: You also absolutely need to provide the state with the appraisal from the bank you used on the reverse mortgage, showing them what the appraised amount is and request that the county reappraises your property (and again, lowering the amount you would be required to pay going forward...a good attorney could probably get it applied retro as well, presuming market conditions remained similar at this points in time).

[2nd_city_saint787]

Ok, so here is the latest update.

 

Yes, it was at 2%. My uncle and Moms name were both on the title. My uncle has another house so they took it as my mom was renting from him, in which case that is considered 2% to the landlord (my uncle). We obviously didn't look at it that way.

 

So that blows. Once word came out about the possibility, we finally just took his name off. Had this been done since the beginning, we would have saved a ton of money and possibly wouldn't be in this situation.

 

It WILL be put up for auction. We have a year to redeem it after the sale. How that works I'm unsure.

 

I'm not sure if it's too late to do some sort of retro action.

 

 

[Chisoxfn]

Ok, so here is the latest update.

 

Yes, it was at 2%. My uncle and Moms name were both on the title. My uncle has another house so they took it as my mom was renting from him, in which case that is considered 2% to the landlord (my uncle). We obviously didn't look at it that way.

 

So that blows. Once word came out about the possibility, we finally just took his name off. Had this been done since the beginning, we would have saved a ton of money and possibly wouldn't be in this situation.

 

It WILL be put up for auction. We have a year to redeem it after the sale. How that works I'm unsure.

 

I'm not sure if it's too late to do some sort of retro action.

Provide proof as to why and how you weren't renting from your uncle and that none of the payments, etc, were tied.

[2nd_city_saint787]

For redeeming a house....if I have a year....do we stay in the home for a year???

 

That seems somewhat s***ty for someone to buy it at auction, move in, and not know if in a year they'll have the house. Sure they'll get the money back (and then some?) but still....

[Chisoxfn]

For redeeming a house....if I have a year....do we stay in the home for a year???

 

That seems somewhat s***ty for someone to buy it at auction, move in, and not know if in a year they'll have the house. Sure they'll get the money back (and then some?) but still....

I think that is why a lot of people don't buy them at auction is because it is very difficult to ultimately own. It very well might not get bought at all. But I would ask all that info from the county and get specifics but I presume you live in it and have a year to get the cash pulled together for the back taxes. I really think you need to consult and expert in the meantime and I still think you could get a junction given listed facts (again I'm not an attorney and I'm not familiar with Indiana property laws).

 

But I'd think you'd be able to get the amount significantly widdled down and probably be able to reach some form of settlement. And you shouldn't take no for an answer.

[2nd_city_saint787]

Provide proof as to why and how you weren't renting from your uncle and that none of the payments, etc, were tied.

 

Do you think they would be able to cut it or do something retroactive?

[Chisoxfn]

Do you think they would be able to cut it or do something retroactive?

I don't know, but I certainly think a case exists to make it retroactive presuming you can prove that you were always entitled to the homestead. I am not a lawyer but I think if you present the facts that a case / argument would exist and I'd think if you got some media attention that would also help the cause. And I know the gov settles with people on back taxes all the time and I presume the county would as well. They just want to get paid what they are owed and while they probably would still charge some form of a fee / penalty, usually they are very willing to negotiate (presuming you have the ability to deliver).

 

I would think a good attorney would be able to issue a stay in the auction pretty quickly but again I'm not an attorney. But I've seen tons of homes fail to go to foreclosure auctions or continuously get delayed (of course those are in cases where banks are in the case vs. government) but I'd think it similarly happens when a property is going to auction due to back taxes.

[2nd_city_saint787]

I talked to a lady and she says there is nothing we can do to change where we're at. Was certainly worth a shot but yeah. There is apparently nothing we can do at this point in regards to fixing old mistakes.

 

The deadline was apparently noon as well. So the time has come and gone. Now we wait the 10-14 days to see how much it went on auction.

 

Maybe an attorney will say differently.

Edited September 3, 2015 by scs787

[Chisoxfn]

I talked to a lady and she says there is nothing we can do to change where we're at. Was certainly worth a shot but yeah. There is apparently nothing we can do at this point in regards to fixing old mistakes.

 

The deadline was apparently noon as well. So the time has come and gone. Now we wait the 10-14 days to see how much it went on auction.

Who is this lady, a lady from the government. Or an attorney. You'd be amazed at what someone who knows what they are doing can do on short notice. I don't buy for one second that it can't get stop. Their are junctions on foreclosed homes in California that happens minutes before the house is supposed to go up for auction.