[Cincinatus' Wife]

....Gripe all you want, ...

I didn't say a word but I will. This is slimeball's using the system to his advantage. Slimeballs are everywhere. There's one here in Houston who bought a free and clear home (aprox. value 150K, I believe) for $5k. over a disputed homeowners bill (inflated by lawyer's bills). It has been resolved in court and her home was returned. Her lawyer is currently suing to have all her expenses to fight this case covered.

At the onset of the Houston case, it came out early on, that the man who purchased her home at auction has hundreds of these properties and uses them as rentals. It was also disclosed that he owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes on these rental properties. People like this man, work the system both ways.

It boils down to buyer beware - owner beware.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

There's one here in Houston who bought a free and clear home (aprox. value 150K, I believe) for $5k. over a disputed homeowners bill (inflated by lawyer's bills). It has been resolved in court and her home was returned. Her lawyer is currently suing to have all her expenses to fight this case covered.

Sounds like The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. A fantastic novel for anyone looking for something to read.

[pepsionice]

Number one, you go straight down to the county tax office and demand an assessment on property value. The value just went down by 8 percent in my book. So all of these houses just lost value. And the county just lost tax revenue, which they will quickly assess that this is not a good thing and the county commission will take a look at what happened. Number two. You offer this guy precisely what he paid for it plus cost of the fence, and $2000 on top of that...and hint thats the top of any offer you will make. When he says no, you turn around to the county tax assessor and hint that this guy owns beach front property and thus he needs to have a real assessment. Let him enjoy five years of paying taxes on this property and figure out that he cannot get any more cash than what was offered. Do not give in or pay the extra cash.