Home Foreclosed and Sold At Tax Auction Because of a $1.63 Unpaid Tax Bill
When Kermit and Delores Atwood of Slidell, Louisiana paid off the mortgage on their home in 1968, they never dreamed they would have to spend their golden years of retirement fighting to keep it from foreclosure.
Their 4 bedroom, 2 bath house was sold in 1997 at a tax auction because they owed a $1.63 tax bill. The home was purchased by American Land Investments for the $1.63 back taxes plus 10 cents interest and $125.00 in administrative fees. Jamie Land Co. bought the house from American Land Investments and is suing to keep the property and evict the Atwoods.
The Atwoods never received the tax bill, nor were they informed that their home had been sold until 2000, more than 3 years after the sale. By then the redemption period had expired making it impossible for the Atwoods to simply pay the taxes and reclaim their property.
The property had been state homestead exempt from the taxes. There had never been a tax bill before. When the St. Tammany Parrish changed the Atwood's address from a rural route to the new address of 4122 Dauphine Street because of the new 911 system, the property became subject to taxes. The problem is, no one bothered to tell the Atwoods. Since they had never owed a tax bill before, they did not update their address with the tax assessor's office. The tax notice was sent to the wrong address and returned as undeliverable.
The Sheriff's Office advertised the delinquent taxes in the local legal journal and then sold the home at the tax auction for $126.73, all without the Atwoods ever being aware that property taxes were owed.
When Delores Atwood, 69, found out that the couple's home had been sold she complained to the sheriff's department and the tax assessor's office that she never received a bill or notice from them and had no idea that the property had been sold out from under them.
After hearing about what had happened, Assessor Patricia Schwarz Core was able to get the Louisiana Tax Commission to nullify the sale because the tax bill had been mailed to an address that doesn't exist.
You would think that would be the end of the story, but Atwoods weren't that lucky.
In 2002 they decided to sell their home. They put it on the market and found a buyer. Then they discovered that there is a problem with the title of the home and they are unable to sell it until the matter is cleared up.
The "matter" happens to be James A. Lindsay II of Jamie Land Co., or more specifically lawsuits he has filed against the Atwoods and the Tax Commission to try to take the property from the Atwoods. As a result of the lawsuits there is a notice of pending litigation attached to the title of the property.
Attorneys for the Tax Commission are defending the commission's decision to mark the sale of the property null and void. The tax assessor got an attorney to represent the Atwoods in the legal battle to keep their home.
In May 2006 the Atwoods won a legal victory when state Judge Patricia Hedges ruled that the nullification of the tax sale was proper and gave the title to the property to them.
James A. Lindsay II of Jamie Land Co. just won't give up and go away though. He appealed Judge Hedge's decision. Louisiana's 1st Circuit Court of Appeal heard the case and a three judge panel upheld the ruling 2-1. Attorneys for Jamie Land Co. asked the court to rehear the case but were turned down.
So now is it over? Unfortunately not. I told you Jamie Land Co. isn't giving up. They're like "Weeble" toys that just won't stay down for the count. Now they plan to ask the state Supreme Court to hear the case.
So, for now the Atwoods aren't sure if they still own their home or not, and it may be a while before this drawn out legal battle is finally settled.