Can a person take oever ownership of your home simply by paying your property taxes?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can a person take oever ownership of your home simply by paying your property taxes?
My sister’s rather slimy boyfriend mentioned a scam where people that he knew about would secretly pay back taxes on the homes of the elderly and then scoop the homes up and re-sell them. Does this happen? Is it legal? How do you recognize if someone is trying to run a scam like this on you? I think he may be trying to run this scam on my parents; I don’t know for sure obviously but I saw some erroneous mailer in my sister’s name and some unknown person. I contacted the mailing list providers who told me that those names had been listed as owning my parents home for 30 years.
Asked on April 13, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Well yes, in some way it can. Although it does seem slimey it is indeed legal. There are always isssues of notice to the home owner and each state has laws regarding the ability of the homeowner to redeem the house (by paying the taxes ven after you hve paid them). If you suspect something with your parent's home I would suggest you take the paper you have to an attorney to help sort it out. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.