Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Saturday, May 05, 2012
Sweep Of Improper Homestead Claims Asserting Real Estate Tax Benefit Entitlements Continues In Indiana
In Porter County, Indiana, the Post Tribune reports:
Owners of multi-family dwellings such as apartments who live in those buildings face a bad news/good news scenario in Porter County.
The bad news is, hundreds of them have been receiving homestead property tax exemptions for entire buildings, not just the units they live in, resulting in thousands of dollars owed to the county. The good news is, they can go to Porter County Auditor Bob Wichlinski’s office and get their exemptions straightened out without having to pay back taxes or penalties. If they put off that task until next year, though, they will have to pay those back taxes and penalties.
Letters went out to property owners saying they were in violation of the homestead exemption late last week, Wichlinski said Thursday. Given the scope of the problem, and the fact that there is no way to know whether property owners were purposefully dishonest when filing the necessary documents at closing when they took ownership of their buildings, his office decided to give property owners amnesty — for now.
“We’re going to notify everybody who’s in this condition, we’re not going to seek back pay but starting in ’12 — pay in ’13 — we’re going to get it right,” Wichlinski said, adding the number of property owners is “in the hundreds — that we know of.”
That certainly provides property owners a break; Wichlinski said one owner who came in owed around $12,000 in back taxes and penalties. The county has been working to verify homestead exemptions, and the multi-unit buildings are just the most recent phase of that sweep, Wichlinski said.
Through early April, the auditor’s office has collected more than $1.4 million from single-family home owners who were committing homestead exemption fraud, he said.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
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