Tax Foreclosure, Part III Introducing Annie

I met Annie while Holly (the reporter) and I were making the rounds with Karen to check on the tax foreclosed properties in early April. We followed up with her over the next few months as she went back and forth about what to do.

Annie's story seemed to be pretty typical for tax foreclosures.

Three generations of her family had lived at the house, and she had let her children, grand children and great-grand children stay for months at a time without helping to pay rent, utilities or for their own food. When the bills piled up, she didn't tell many people in her family. Those she did tell generally played down the issue. So flash forward three years and her home was taken by the county for back taxes on April 1.

Despite the several notices posted by the county on her door and a personal visit from Karen, Annie was still unsure whether or not she would need to leave her house.

In late July, the county's process server finally came to evict her. Annie and her family pleaded for more time to move out of the house and were granted almost a week's reprieve. Still, when the locks were finally changed many of the possessions she had lived a life time with remained behind.