DELINQUENT
PROPERTY TAXES
YOU MAY LOSE
YOUR HOME FASTER THAN YOU THOUGHT!!
If you fail to pay your property taxes on time, your
property may be sold by the government. Your right to pay back taxes
and keep your property is called your right to “redeem.”
A 1999 Michigan law significantly shortens the time and
reduces your opportunities to redeem your home.
* If you fail to pay property taxes billed in 2007, in
most cases your last chance to pay and keep your home will be in March,
2010.
Under this law, a court hearing will be scheduled in
early 2010. If the court finds that the taxes are owed, you must pay
the taxes (including fees, penalties and interest) immediately or you
will lose all rights to keep or redeem your home.
PUBLIC ACT
123
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. If I don’t pay my
taxes, will I really lose my house and property?
A. YES. Property owners
who had delinquent taxes under the old law could also lose their
property, but they had more time to pay and more “second chances.”
Under the new law, if your taxes are delinquent for three years, that’s
it. You’ve lost the property.
Q. What is delinquent
tax?
A. A delinquent tax is a
tax that has been forwarded to the county treasurer for
collection on March 1 of the year after it was due. For example, taxes
that are billed by your city or township treasurer in 2008 will be
turned delinquent to the county treasurer on March 1, 2009.
Q. What happens after the
property is forwarded to the county treasurer for collection?
A. The county treasurer
adds a 4% administration fee and interest of 1% per month. After one
year, the property is forfeited to the county treasurer. For example,
the 2007 taxes that are still unpaid as of March 1, 2009, will be in
forfeiture.
Q. What does it mean for
my property to be in forfeiture? Does that man I lose my property?
A. No. Forfeiture is not
foreclosure. If your property is in forfeiture, you will still have a
year before it will be foreclosed. However, the interest and fees will
be higher. When a property is forfeited, the interest rate goes up from
1% per month to 1.5% per month, back to the date the taxes became
delinquent. There are additional fees added: $175 forfeiture fee, $45
visitation fee, and a $20 recording fee. On October 1, a $15
publication fee is added if it is unpaid.
Q. What happens after my
property is in forfeiture?
A. After a property has
been in forfeiture for one year, it will be foreclosed. 2007 property
taxes will be in foreclosure in March, 2010.
Q. What happens after my
property is foreclosed? How do I get it back?
A. YOU CANNOT GET YOUR
PROPERTY BACK AFTER IT HAS BEEN FORECLOSED. FORECLOSURE IS FINAL!!
PROPERTY THAT HAS BEEN FORECLOSED WILL BE SOLD AT PUBLIC AUCTION.
Q. I still owe my
property taxes from 2006 & 2007. What should I do about those?
A. Pay them as quickly as
you can. We do accept partial payments, but the taxes must be paid in
full in order to avoid foreclosure.
Q. What if I can’t come
up with all the money right now?
A. Even if you can’t pay
your taxes all at once, you can still make partial payments. Make your
check payable to the Gogebic County Treasurer. To ensure your payment
is applied to your parcel, please write your parcel number on your check
or money order. The mailing address is 200 N. Moore St., Bessemer, MI
49911. If you can’t pay all of your taxes before foreclosure, contact
the Dept. of Human Services at 906-663-6200, or Gog. Ont. Community
Action at 906-667-0283 for possible financial assistance.
Q. Will I receive any
notification before my property is foreclosed?
A. Yes. Five
notifications will be made. Two will be by first class mail, two by
certified mail and the last notification will be made by personal
service. In addition to these notifications, names and addresses of
delinquent property owners may be published in the newspaper.
Q. I no longer own this
property. Why am I still getting the bill? I now own this property.
Why is the previous owner’s name on the bill?
A. Ownership changes are
typically recorded with the County Register of Deeds who notifies your
local assessor. The assessor then passes along the changes to the local
treasurer and the county treasurer. Our updates arrive only a few times
a year. We can provide you with the name and number of your local
assessor to resolve any incorrect ownership information.
Q. What if my mortgage
company should have paid this bill?
A. When mortgages are
sold or transferred sometimes the new mortgage company fails to make a
timely tax payment on your behalf. If your tax payments are held in
escrow by your bank or mortgage company and they did not pay (or paid
late), we suggest that you contact them immediately. If funds were
available in your escrow account and they did not pay on time, you
should request that your bank or mortgage company reimburse you for any
late fees, penalties, or interest. We recommend that all taxpayers with
escrow arrangements check with their local treasurer every year to make
sure that the tax payment has been made by the lender.
Q. What if I think I
already paid?
A. If you have a
cancelled check or receipt showing your payment to your local township
or city, please bring it in or have a copy mailed to us for proof.
Sometimes taxpayers overlook a summer or winter bill or don’t realize
they’ve paid late and incurred fees or interest.
Q. What if I am in
bankruptcy?
A. Bankruptcy typically
stops the property tax forfeiture/foreclosure process (although interest
continues to accrue). However, a customer in bankruptcy needs to
include their property taxes in their bankruptcy filing. We do not mail
tax statements to customers with active bankruptcy protection. If you
receive a tax statement from us, it is likely that we do not know about
your bankruptcy. Please call us immediately or ask your attorney to
call.
MAKE SURE
YOU RECEIVE TAX NOTICES
General Property Tax
Act 211.44 (2) Failure to send or receive the notice does not
prejudice the right to collect or enforce the payment of the tax.
It is important that you
receive tax notices so that you know when you are in danger of losing
your property. In Michigan, you receive two statements per year. The
summer tax bill is sent the first week in July. The winter tax bill is
sent the first week in December. If you do not receive a statement,
please contact your local unit of government. If you are not currently
receiving copies of tax bills, then you have no assurance that you will
receive delinquent tax notices, and you should take steps to make sure
that you receive them in the future. You should pay particular
attention after you buy property or change the address where tax bills
should be sent.
Under the new law, people
can also receive notices of tax delinquencies by paying a $5 fee to the
county treasurer by February 1 each year. So, if you are assisting
other people (such as elderly parents) in handling their property, you
may want to contact the county where the property is located and request
tax delinquency notice for that property each year.
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