One raw day in early February, Vicki Valentine stood by helplessly as real estate investors snatched her West Baltimore home over what began with an unpaid city water bill of $362.
As snow threatened to fall, she watched a work crew hired by the new owners punch out the lock on her front door. A sheriff’s deputy was on the scene while Valentine and her teenage son piled whatever they could into a borrowed car.
Running out of time, Valentine scrambled to pack up clothing and mementos.The home had been her family’s for nearly three decades, and her father had paid off the mortgage in 1984. “It’s hard to say goodbye to this house,” she said. “It’s like someone forcing you out of something that belongs to you. I don’t get it.”
Valentine lost the two-story brick row home after the city sold her debt to investors through a contentious and byzantine legal process called a “tax sale.” This little-known type of foreclosure can enrich investors as growing numbers of property owners struggle to pay their bills.
These foreclosed homeowners are not the families making headlines for taking on mortgages they could ill afford. Families ensnared in the tax sale sometimes are unable to overcome relatively small debts owed to local tax collectors.
Rather than collect the overdue money they are owed, many local governments are selling tax liens.
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Off course it's not her fault. Mr. um um um was elected so she don't have to pay bills no more.
ReplyDeletewoman's home taken comments: they got laws like this all over so pay your bills, property taxes folks!!! Get a job as a maid or day care worker if ya have to, to pay it. That son of hers needs to work too and help support his mom! Disabled folks can get assistance, otherwise go to work.
ReplyDeleteWhoa Whoa , hold on, slow down, Bernanke just announce we're on the road to recovery!
ReplyDeleteNever fear our keynesian super hero will save use all!
Laura did it ever occur to you that taxes are ILLEGAL? Look it up for yourself Here and Here and HERE We all pay taxes because THEY say we have to..SUCKERS!
ReplyDeletemr um um um w bush started all of this mess
ReplyDeletemr um um um bush and cheney have their hands all over the gulf mess, um um um w loser bush
America is under attack by banksterism. The day they take the home of a vet, or the family member of a vet, all hell will break loose.
ReplyDeleteOur sock puppet in charge is too busy pimping the Israeli war agenda to care about someone like this at all. The disgusting propaganda never rests.
ReplyDeleteHere, Isis-Ra-El murders people on the high seas in International Waters and the owned puppet doesn't even blink an eye.
But, Iran! Oh now the terrible brown boogy man people! Watch out for this horrific threat!
"Sock puppet President says Iran fails to meet nuclear-program responsibilities; United Nations approves new sanctions."
Sure is lucky for black people that we have a black President!
ReplyDelete"The day they take the home of a vet, or the family member of a vet, all hell will break loose."
ReplyDeleteThis has already happened- a soldier had his home foreclosed while he was off fighting in Iraq. It was just in the news recently. If you don't pay your bills, they will snatch your home, veteran or not.
The oil is flowing from the Blowout Protector at a MUCH faster rate now.
ReplyDeleteLook at it.
It's gotten a LOT worse in the past 24 hours.
Is that molten MAGMA I'm seeing in the oil stream coming out of it? Is that oil at 1000's of degrees farenheit?
How long before that blowout preventer just pops off the seafloor from so much pressure and flow?
Wow, crazy!
ReplyDeleteI saw a young kid wearing an brown t-shirt with Obama's face on it that said 'change' underneath.
ReplyDeleteIs that the height of delusion or what?
Are there really any people who don't understand that they were conned and sold out at this point?
The Oligarch bankers placed B.O. in power to continue W's policies of looting and terror. Brilliant move using a black man though, well calculated at the perfect time.
Put a cranky war-wonger white old man as his competition in there at a time when Americans were getting wise to all the lies.
We are screwed.
Holy shit 11:32 you are correct. That is molten Lava mixed with the oil. Oh boy.
ReplyDeleteI think they sabotaged the platform and staged all of this for their profits, but now it is getting much worse than even these corp criminals had planned.
About 155 million gallons leaked so far, mixed with BPs toxic chemicals. Goodbye Gulf states.
ReplyDeleteWorst case scenario is that the so-called "relief wells" that may or may not be completed by December may also blow out due to excess pressure. Then what? A recent poll showed that 80% of Americans believe this "too-good-to-waste-crisis" was intentional. O'Bummer was gleeful that he can now promote his dastardly cap and tax legislation. His feigned outrage looks really stupid.
ReplyDelete10:40 your deadbeat did not fail to pay her bills under Bush. The city probably gave her over 6 months before taking this action. Mr. um um um created this mess. This is obama's fault. Because of obama I don't gotta pay my bills.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI
No city takes away anything without notice upon notice upon notice...IF YOU CHOOSE TO IGNORE THE NOTICES...They will take your shit at a horrible ratio...Hence for the the small sum of $362 bucks this lady lost her house.
ReplyDeleteI hate people who whine afterwards..."OMG I can't believe they did this or that!"...But for this lady and her lazy son they were warned many many times.
I can almost assure you she and her son made other purchases during the time they were warned...They even let you pay in installments.
Now she's homeless...Now it's "Oh whoa is me!"
Bottom feeders better pay attention because the states/cities and feds will NO longer help you out when you shirk from responsibilities.
You owe pay OR don't use.
All benefits are being cut or taken away...Prepare or drown.
12:50 you're have been in mindless media induced coma for years. GM misses payments for years they get a BAILOUT and lose NOTHING. BANKS missed payments THEY get bailed out and LOSE nothing. Have you heard about the "bailouts"? What world do you live in? Unless you're a gov't shill or just plain stupid?
ReplyDelete1243 your deadbeat bush administration gave billions in bailouts before they left, where are the bailouts for the common tax payer, these criminal corps pay no taxes and then rob us in the form of bailouts that your precious bush loser passed before he left office, loser
ReplyDeleteThis story gave me hope for change!
ReplyDeleteThis woman got exactly what she had coming. Another tax eating bottom feeder gets the hard lessons of life. You take something, you pay for it. A simple concept even for bottom feeders you would think.
Bwaaaaaaaah! Good job City of Baltimore!
2:29 another deadbeat shill posting here. Tax eating bottom feeder? Like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and the rest of the scammers? They are OK with you? Dumb hick..You're fighting the wrong group
ReplyDelete10:31Am: Everyone wants roads and trash pick up; working sewer systems, street lights, etc,etc. That's what property taxes maintain.. This gal owed other bills too (utilities). Not paying debts is stealing!
ReplyDeletefreak laura, why do the big corps get away with murder and the little guy gets squashed, you sound more like a corp shill everyday
ReplyDeleteyou mean ..when i get the electric bill .. I need to pay that bill"
ReplyDeleteOMG I thought Obama would take care of me...
2:50 = Trailer trash.
ReplyDelete2:50 you are no different than Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, et al. Man up and pay your own way for once in life instead of pointing to other criminals as an excuse.
@10:40 am said:
ReplyDelete"mr um um um w bush started all of this mess"
I am truly curious... How long does a president have to be in office before his administration starts to take responsibility? 2 years? 5 years? Never?
Idiots like you should just blame Warren G. Harding.
To wonderful 12:56...Learn to read...Read the article douchebag...Lady made a 100 dollar payment since 2006 and then ignored all the letters...She was warned and warned...But she has FOUR SONS AND IS ON DISABILITY AND STOPPED WORKING TO HELP HER FATHER.
ReplyDeleteOk lets break it down...Why so many kids? Why can't some of her sons help her have taken care of grandpa? Why did she quit her job and which ended up causing her to end up on disability for stress? Why as the bills/penalties/interest kept getting bigger could she not make a call or stop by and start making small installments so this BS wouldn't have happened?
Let me tell you why...Because aid is there...When you give too much aid to people they abuse it or take it for granted and BECOME USELESS...Don't want to throw New Orleans in the mix but 5th generation welfare families demanding to be helped don't bring tears to my eyes at all.
All this crap about "Why if corporations this and that..." is a red herring...The question at hand is:
Did this lady get a raw deal and get her house basically stolen by the city for a small debt?
The answer is NO...She was given ample time, asked to make small payments, ignored everything since 2006...Finally the city sold it to some real thieves who saw a goldmine screwing over the idiots who never pay their bills and who never thought the day would come that there would be consequences.
I am and was poor...I don't pity people who expect everything or made their own grave...This lady dug her own hole.