View Full Version : Property taxes
cocoladawn
Oct 15, 2008, 11:16 AM
I received my trailer 7 months ago but didn't know there were back taxes owed from the previous land lord I was never notified of back taxes or anything. Well 3 months ago the person that owed these taxes passed away and there was a sale today and someone paid the taxes and came to my house with a letter he wrote up on his computer and signed his name too giving me 15 days to vacate the premises, can he do that is it legal
AtlantaTaxExpert
Oct 15, 2008, 12:42 PM
You should immediately contact a lawyer to represent your interests in this matter.
BTW, this is really a LEGAL question, not a tax question, and is best posted on the LAW Forum.
Fr_Chuck
Oct 15, 2008, 02:15 PM
? You received your trailer, first how did you receive it, a gift, you bought it?
Did you go though a real estate closing, if so property taxes were to be cleared at closing.
If you bought the property and did not know that the taxes were due, you owed the taxes.
Now depending on the state, in most the owner of the property has a time to redeem the property. But honestly, no the person who owed the taxes was you, since you took the property, once you became the owner all past property taxes becaume your liability.
Also someone does not just pay the taxes, the property is sold at a tax sale, there is a public auction, and all properties will be posted for sale in the legal section of the news paper and at the court house.
Now next question, you bought the trailer or was given the trailer, does it have a title, like a car, often the trailer is not part of the actual land, but bought separate.
So you will need to see if after the sale there is any right to redeem, if there is, you merely pay the person the price he paid for the past taxes plus a interest and you keep the property,
But you need to check at the court house first, it may be as simple as paying the person back for the taxes if there is a right to redeem. Also if you filed a new deed at the court house when you got the propeerty, you shouild have been shown as the owner and owed the taxes, so you should have been mailed notice of the sale.
twinkiedooter
Oct 15, 2008, 05:40 PM
Check with the county tax office to see how much taxes were owed and if anyone actually paid these taxes on the trailer. The person might be pulling some kind of scam on you. Check it out before you move anywhere! Also any back taxes owed on the trailer just can't be paid by someone and then they immediately own the trailer. Let's say if I owed back taxes on a trailer that I was living in and you went down to the tax collector's office and paid them for me (or paid them off) you would have just paid my taxes for me. The only way someone could possibly "take over" your trailer would be through the tax collector or tax auditor's office through a sale. Usually back taxes would have to be well over several thousand dollars for this to happen.
Fr_Chuck
Oct 15, 2008, 06:05 PM
Well no it does not have to be over several thousand dollars,
I have bought properties for 60 dollars before, it is how many years they were not paid,
Not all states but often what happens on the 2nd or third year they are sold at auction with the bid starting at the tax owed. Then if they are not sold, they are sold at a second auction or they wait till next year sale where they are sold with no miin bid just to be sold.
I have bought many homes for less than 1000 dollars in taxes ( now remember in some areas a nice home my only have 300 dollar a year property tax, not the 1000's it is in metro areas.