Hey all,

New to the sub, and hoping for some advice in regards to digging my family out of the hole we're currently in.

For context; just before the first lock down I moved back into my mother's house which she inherited in 2018-19 from my grandfather. Unbeknownst to me, she had not kept up with property taxes, and we're now facing legal action and likely losing the house if I'm not able to intervene.

I just got off the phone with the sheriff's office in our county, and was told that we owe approximately 20,000 in fees, interest, and taxes. In June, the house goes up for sale if we are unable to provide the sheriff's office with this amount.

The other option that was given to us was to talk to the attorney(s) that handled this case (after seeing the paperwork, it looks like everything has already gone through court), and try to work something out with them. I called, but they were not in office so I'm waiting to hear back from them.

My income is not fantastic, I only make $11 /hr, and my mother's income is extremely variable, as she's self employed. (She is a mobile cat groomer, and I'm unsure of what her general take home is)

I'm hoping someone here may have had experience with a situation like this, and may know whether the attorneys may have a more long term payment option that can be worked out, because 20k isn't happening in a 2 month span.

Some info:

We're in Texas
3 occupants in home. Two have income, one is unable to work (has AIDS and is not in great shape)

Thanks guys.

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rolliejoe t1_jecyylb wrote on March 31, 2023 at 2:40 AM

No one here is going to be able to give you specific advice for your situation except "you need to keep trying to contact the attorneys to see if they will offer a payment plan".

Apart from that, how much equity is in the home? (That means the value of the home if you sold it yourself minus how much is left on the mortgage, if there is a mortgage.) Without anyone in the household earning a living wage, it may make more sense to sell the home yourself rather than have it sold by the county, and use the proceeds to pay off the mortgage/property tax, and if there's anything left over that can help with finding a place to rent.

Second steps will be that you (definitely) and your mother (if possible) need to be job hunting. If you are young and in ok physical shape, and not on drugs, you can easily make $16-20+/hr at a dozen or more national employers (USP, fedex, amazon come to mind) and be working in 1-2 weeks. Without knowing your mom's yearly income of course nothing useful can be said about that, but if she's $20k behind on taxes I'm guessing "mobile cat groomer" isn't really a job but rather a hobby, and she may need to look for a real, reliable income if she is able.

Ioradin OP t1_jed94or wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:10 AM

I'll have to start looking for better/more work, most definitely. The job I'm currently in wasn't supposed to be anything more than a stopgap, after a fairly long period of unemployment and I suppose that's on me.

As far as equity; I'm not certain what the house is worth. I'm scrambling to get this info together now, but if it does come to selling the house, I'm glad to know paying the taxes through a home sale is an option.

For my mother's income; I'm really in the dark about what she brings in, I know it has high potential but it's extremely difficult to get any of that information out of her. Kind of in the same way that I was unaware of the situation regarding our property taxes.

Thank you for the reply, every bit of information is helpful.

navel-encounters t1_jecv7ar wrote on March 31, 2023 at 2:10 AM

There are two types of sherrif sales, one your tax bill will be sold to someone else and then you owe them plus interest or they will force you to sell, or two, the county will force you to sell.

Ignoring the issue wont make this go away and many counties DO offer an 'offer in compromise' if you can prove economic hardship. So you neeeeeed to talk to a tax attorney and have them do the work for you or you WILL loose your home.

Ioradin OP t1_jed7iju wrote on March 31, 2023 at 3:55 AM

Thank you, that's definitely my next set of calls.

AAAAaaaagggghhhh t1_jecwadh wrote on March 31, 2023 at 2:18 AM

Not an expert, but no adult should be at $11/hr. It's making you homeless. The two of you who can work need to step it up. Look for places offering a sign-on bonus- of $10K, and get it in writing. Bring a copy to whatever attorneys are helping you. You'll probably need representation. I wouldn't risk my home on skipping that. Is the 3rd adult getting disability? If not, why not? Find out what else can be done- like in-home help, maybe. I'm in a different state, so YMMV, but find out about all of that. You need more than to get through this crisis, alone. Keep asking questions and learning. I know that geographically wages vary, but where I live wages are generally lower than in Texas, and I was getting $11/hr as a teenager 40 years ago. Think that through and figure out how to leverage your skills and talents.

Ioradin OP t1_jed9z99 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:18 AM

I agree that $11 /hr is untenable, and is a below the average income in TX/DFW. The job was supposed to be a stopgap after a fairly long period of unemployment.

I don't have a degree, and most of my work experience is in customer service, which may be a limiting factor. Although, from what I'm beginning to understand I may have been selling myself short in that regard for awhile.

3rd adult is not receiving disability. We've applied in the past, and have been denied but I absolutely agree that we should try again; especially now that he has access to a social worker. I know on his end it's been a long battle with the state to get coverage for medication and treatment related to AIDS, and that's definitely had us scared to apply for other benefits.

Thank you for the reply, it's helpful to have other people outline some of this stuff. I have to admit I've been panicking a little and should have probably come to some of these conclusions, myself.