Thread: S.F. homeless are bad for environment

It does not take much to become homeless...

Disabled military veteran could lose his home over $236 in back taxes
July 12, 2019

Air Force veteran Jim Boerner may lose his Mesa home because of a $236 tax bill. Boerner says he paid the taxes but his home went to auction anyway. Tom Tingle, The Republic | azcentral.com

Disabled military veteran Jim Boerner bought his buttercup-yellow mobile home in Mesa two years ago, hoping to live affordably into his old age.

Boerner, 49, is unable to work because of spinal and brain injuries he suffered during a training exercise in 1991 at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, he said.

On his limited income, Boerner keeps a cat named Samantha, fixes guitars found at garage sales and brings flowers to widowed neighbors on Christmas, Easter and Mother's Day.

To save money, Boerner says he applied to a Maricopa County program that reduces property taxes for people with disabilities and limited incomes. He thought he had been accepted.

So when a stranger knocked on his door last month claiming to have bought his home at auction because of $236 in late taxes, Boerner said he was floored.

"I said, 'What are you talking about? ... This has got to be wrong,' " Boerner recalled. "Had I known I was in peril of losing my home, I would have paid it in full."

Now Boerner is fighting to save his home, knowing he could be forced to pack his things any day.

Government officials have scrambled to find loopholes but say there may be nothing they can do. The new owner says he won't negotiate and will begin eviction proceedings soon.

"It's difficult. It’s just difficult," Boerner said through tears on Monday. "I love my home. I love my neighbors. ... This was my nest egg, you know? That's why I paid cash for it. This is where I was going to retire. And now I don't have that assurance anymore."

What went wrong?

Boerner has had to navigate a labyrinth of bureaucracy to find out what went wrong.

The Maricopa County Assessor's Office handles tax exemptions. The Maricopa County Treasurer's Office collects tax payments and issues delinquency notices. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office serves delinquent taxpayers with auction notices and conducts the sales.

"I've been getting the brick wall everywhere I turn," Boerner said.

Treasurer Royce Flora, who has been trying to help, said it's understandable that a taxpayer may feel lost.

"If we can't figure out how to get through the maze, how is he supposed to?" Flora said.

The treasurer believes it's outrageous that Boerner is facing eviction.

If Boerner had lived in a single-family home, he might not be on the verge of being kicked out. Single-family homeowners have five years to pay back taxes before foreclosure.

But different rules apply to mobile homes, which are considered personal property, Flora said. They can be auctioned as soon as tax payments are late.

Arizona law is "not treating (a mobile home) like someone's home," Flora said. "A home is a home, and they should be treated the same."

Read more
https://www.azcentral.com/story/mone...na/1661266001/

This is clearly very wrong. I hope that at the very least, they either find a way through in way decent for him, or some philanthropist steps in and buys him another home.

Originally Posted by Klondyke

The new owner says he won't negotiate and will begin eviction proceedings soon.

What a dick...

From the article :


Text messages Boerner shared with The Republic don't show him calling Payne names, but the veteran did tell Payne he could expose the buyer's criminal rap sheet, which includes felonies for aggravated assault, misconduct involving weapons and endangerment along with misdemeanors for driving under the influence and shoplifting, according to county court records.

"You want a battle, Lester," Boerner wrote. "We will battle."
Payne texted that he was "tired of the threats."
"It's been long enough for you to try to buy the home," Payne texted. "I'm starting (the) eviction process now."