On Dec. 29, 2021, a letter was left on our front porch by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. It was a “Notice to Quit” from a Greenfield law firm. “You are hereby notified and requested to vacate the premises which you now rent. You will have until February 1, 2022 to vacate … or I will go to the Greenfield Housing Court and seek permission to evict you.”
This notice changed us from being homeowners one day, to squatters facing eviction the next. We had no idea that being delinquent in our property taxes could mean losing all our home equity. It wasn’t until we hired our own lawyer that we learned how Chapter 60 of the Massachusetts General Laws permits a municipality to “take” our home’s title, and take with it all the equity built up in our home, which we owned free and clear.
We tried to make a significant payment toward our arrears back in August 2021 — but the Tax Collector’s office would not accept our $20,000 partial payment. So we set about collecting a total payment, assured by our lawyer that we could “redeem” our house if we paid all taxes, collection fees, and the legal fees from two law firms working for the city. About a third of what we owed was interest and legal fees — not taxes.
Under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we have a right to be free from uncompensated taking of private property. Under the Eighth Amendment, we have a right to be free from excessive fines. Under the Fifth Amendment, we have a right to adequate notice before being deprived of our property. We have many of the same rights under the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights and the Massachusetts Constitution.
We managed to avoid going over the home equity cliff by paying every tax owed, plus collection costs and interest. We still have not received a detailed, itemized Real Estate Tax Statement of all monies we paid to Greenfield. The city’s lawyer incorrectly told the judge we have a mortgage, and that our home was under “sole ownership,” when in fact we both are joint owners.
But the law that put us at the brink of eviction is unconstitutional, and the state is currently being sued by other homeowners who lost their homes and total equity.
We don’t want to see any other homeowners in Greenfield ever have to go through what we went through. We have written to state Sen. Adam Hinds, chairman of the Revenue Committee, and to state Sen. Jo Comerford, to swiftly pass H. 3053 to prevent municipalities from confiscating wealth from real property owners through “home equity theft.”
Many victims of this law are seniors and people with disabilities who have no mortgage, but are exposed to the equity robbers, who strip you clean and leave you on the curb.
On April 15, Greenfield took out a large legal notice listing 42 properties being “taken” by the town. There was no mention of “title” and no information about how to “redeem” your property. The city of Greenfield — and every other municipality in the state — are engaged in an unconstitutional, predatory money grab scheme. All surplus funds over and above taxes due and collection costs should be returned to the former property owner.
We call upon the mayor of Greenfield to ensure the tax collector publishes an annual Tax Title-Taking report to the citizens, quantifying how many property titles and how much excess equity was taken. The mayor should see that taxpayers receive clear and repeated notices in plain English that explain how tax title cases work, what happens to the equity, and how a taxpayer can “redeem” their home and keep their title.
We call upon the City Council, our legislative body, to produce language that allows the city to voluntarily waive its rights to collect excess equity under Chapter 60, s. 53, and to return such equity to the homeowner if their property is sold. We ask both the mayor and the council to lobby the General Court to get H. 3053 onto the desk of the governor for his signature.
Some officials may argue that our city is just “following the law,” but that argument is self-serving and ridiculous. Slavery also was the law, but that did not make it right. Our elected officials will be measured by whether they take steps to end legalized theft, or whether they choose to leave homeowners waiting for their eviction notice.
Joan Marie Jackson and Mitch Speight are Greenfield homeowners.