Letters will be sent over the next few weeks to those who lost their Buffalo properties to foreclosure but are owed refunds because the homes sold at the 2019 auction for more than what the former owners owed.
The City of Buffalo’s new plan to bring in $4.8 million by taking ownership of properties on the foreclosure lists before they are auctioned next month could lead to the tax burden being shifted to other property owners in Erie County, according to County Clerk Michael “Mickey” Kearns. And attorneys with the Western New York Law Center say part
The city’s new plan to change the way it sells tax delinquent properties at annual foreclosure auctions is coming under scrutiny from community groups, stakeholders and the Western New York Law Center, which represents low-income residents. Currently a property that is foreclosed on goes to the new buyer at the auction and no Common Council approval is needed because
A $1.72 billion Erie County budget approved by the Legislature sets aside $1.17 million for legal costs to pursue foreclosures against about 1,500 tax-delinquent property
The county threatened to foreclose on nearly 150 city properties with large unpaid tax bills for years, and that prompted 80 percent of the owners to make payments.
Erie County is cheating its taxpayers. It is doing so by failing for years to go after its tax cheaters. It needs to rethink its indifference. The problem for Erie County is expense. As a consequence of the disastrous 2004 budget crisis, the department that ensures tax compliance was gutted, leaving it with too few resources to go after
