SCHENECTADY Woman facing foreclosure fights tax lien sale policies BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
A woman who owns her home outright is in danger of losing it because she fell behind on her taxes when she lost her job. Linda Hart, of Linda Lane, is being foreclosed upon by American Tax Funding even though she has faithfully paid them $300 a month for three years to cover her back taxes. In response to the foreclosure notice, she has hired an attorney who is arguing in state Supreme Court in Schenectady County that the city illegally sold Hart’s liens to ATF. Attorney Anthony Pietrafesa is also questioning ATF’s 21 percent interest rate, which he says is usurious. In New York state, the highest interest rate that can be charged is 16 percent, he said. Municipalities are exempt, and Schenectady charges 21 percent. But ATF can’t, he argues. He said the interest rate led to Hart owing $3,500 in interest every year. “She can’t catch up. They don’t want you to pay it off,” he said. Starting in 2009, she has paid a total of $15,000 to ATF, which is thousands more than her original bills. ATF says she owes another $19,000. At the current tax rate for the city, schools and county, she would have owed a total of $12,836. But she likely owed even less, since the combined tax rate was much lower when she missed her payments. She didn’t pay her taxes in 2007, Pietrafesa said. 2008 and 2009 because she lost “They’re not asking for the her job. But, she said, the situation money, they’re just asking for the would not have been as dire if the property,” he said. city’s taxes were not so high. She used to pay $1,200 a year BROADER CHALLENGE in total taxes. Now she pays more If Hart successfully fights off the than $4,000. foreclosure the decision could have , “The property taxes in Schenectady are way too high,” she said. “The city ought to focus on cutting the expenses and the waste.” Pietrafesa said she owns her house because it has been passed down through family members, and although the equity in the house is much higher than the ATF bill, she doesn’t want to sell. And ATF is no longer willing to accept her monthly payments, far-reaching effects. Pietrafesa has filed court papers arguing that the foreclosure is invalid because Schenectady could not sell tax liens to ATF from 2005 to 2009. Hart’s liens were sold in 2007, 2008 and 2009. If a judge sides with him, many foreclosures will be stopped in their tracks. ATF originally bought liens from the city in 2004 after the state passed special legislation allowing a one-time sale. But city offi cials wanted to keep selling the liens, and believed the legislation would allow them to do so if they only sold to ATF. The legislation was unclear. Either it allowed the city to sell liens until Dec. 31, 2004, or it allowed the city to enter into a contract by that date. The city took the second defi - nition and agreed to a contract that was used for the next fi ve years. The law says that “until December 31, 2004, the city of Schenectady may enter into a contract to sell some or all of the delinquent tax liens held by it.” In 2009, the city asked for “permanent” legislation to sell tax liens, which would have allowed Schenectady to take bids from many companies and select a new buyer. Instead, the state passed a narrower law, allowing one more sale in late 2009 but specifying that the law would expire on December 31, 2011 and be automatically repealed. QUESTION OF INTENT Pietrafesa says the legislation never specifically said the city could keep selling the liens between 2004 and 2009, and that the state’s second law clearly showed that it had not intended a continuous sale. “It wasn’t supposed to be an ongoing thing. On the bill jacket you have Sen. [Hugh] Farley saying this is a one-time sale,” he said. “I don’t think they meant to keep doing it. It was just irresistible. ATF kept buying.”...........................>>>>.........................>>>>.............................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01303&AppName=1
This type of thing happens in every city. We have the best of the best running the city. Finance, Police and Law......Public Works....
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid - John Wayne
TIP TO NEW VISITORS TO THIS FORUM - To improve your blogging pleasure it is recommended to ignore (Through editing your prefere) the posts of the following bloggers - DemocraticVoiceofReason, Scotsgod08 and Smoking Bananas. They continually go off topic, do not provide facts and make irrational remarks. If you do not believe me, this can be proven by their reputation scores or by a sampling of their posts.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
And the Renaissance keeps rolling along! ......set to the tune of the Caisson Song!
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Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
I don't understand this. According to McCheese only slumlords are being thrown into the streets by the DEM morons. This must be another misprint in the Gazetto.
This type of thing happens in every city. We have the best of the best running the city. Finance, Police and Law......Public Works....
You expect the corrupt DEM machine to actually follow the law? That's for the sheeple not the DEM friends and family club who routinely goes to City Hall and have their assessments lowered by thousands. Thank you McCheese and Stratton for throwing another property owner out in the street because of your insane DEM taxes.
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I don't understand this. According to McCheese only slumlords are being thrown into the streets by the DEM morons. This must be another misprint in the Gazetto.
