Widow will lose her home by Christmas

By Ginny Privitar
NEWFOUNDLAND — Doris France, 72, sits in her wheelchair and wonders how her life could have fallen apart so catastrophically in just over a year.

Her son David, who lives with her and is also disabled, said his mother suffered a broken hip and two strokes in the past year, before her most recent health crisis. She was recently discharged from Geisinger Medical Center after treatment for a collapsed lung.

Mother and son both live on government checks and were several years behind on their property taxes. Their combined income is about $2,000 a month, including Doris’ portion of $1,300, David said. They’re behind on the bills.

And the problems with their Newfoundland home seem insurmountable. It needs many repairs, and the property is overgrown. They don’t have hot water and keep warm with small propane heaters. Their car and refrigerator don't work. A grandson brings them food.

On Sept. 23, they lost their home in an “upset sale” for $18,530 in overdue taxes. The purchasers got it for the amount of taxes due. Doris and her son get nothing from the sale of the house, which Doris purchased for nearly 20 times that amount only ten years ago.

The purchaser is listed as “Upset 2014 LLC.” The principal of the company is Don Walpole. He and his partner, James Luongo, live in Pike County. They have 90 days from Sept. 23 to take possession of the property, putting the date just three days before Christmas.

Luongo said they only recently learned of the family's plight, and want to work things out.

Luongo recently called lawyer Vern Lazaroff, who reached out to assist Doris upon hearing of her extremity. Lazaroff seemed surprised and gratified by Luongo’s offer.

Luongo has been to visit Doris and said he'd like to settle matters without hiring a lawyer. He offered to rent Doris the house while he replaces the refrigerator, fixes the heating system and other repairs, and cleans up the place. But, he said, just heating the large home would be too costly for Doris.

He said he’d even sell the home back to her, but there’s no way Doris could come up with the money. And in another year, she’ll be in the same predicament as now, he said. He’s also offering to rent her a smaller house he owns.

Luongo has given Doris until Nov. 14 to make up her mind.

“The only way to help them is if they want help," he said. "She has to do something. If she does nothing within seven days, I’ll have no choice but to do what the lawyers say.”

Hardship takes it tollLazaroff had planned to file an exception to the sale. Sadly, he said, Doris' situation is not that rare.

“She wasn’t taking care of the taxes," he said. "Anybody who wanted to buy (the house) could do so at a tax sale.”

This, he said, was beyond Doris' comprehension.

“Can you image this woman having to move after so many years, and disabled?" Lazaroff said. "The years of hardship and isolation take their toll, and people can’t react, can’t take care of these things.”

He continued: “How do you find out you’re going to be thrown out on the street and you’re 72 years old and in a wheelchair? How can you move all your things? They don’t have the money.”

Doris bought the house and its approximately 10 acres in 2004 for $344,000, using insurance money she received after her husband’s death. She probably should have sold the house years ago and moved to a place she could afford, but the situation got out of hand.

Lazaroff estimated that the house is worth more than $100,000. The new owner said he paid around $20,000.

Doris said she tried to get a bank loan. But "they said it was too late," she said. "The house is paid off. I paid almost $350,000 for it and I get nothing.”

“Everything fell apart for me," she continued. "I ran out of money, and things just got worse and worse. My health went. I was in and out of the hospital last year.”

She described the cascading manner in which she lost her health.

“First I fractured my hip, and that started it all," she said. "And then I had two strokes, vein bypass on my leg, and then a collapsed lung, maybe from smoking or whatever. I was spitting up blood. I don’t feel that great, but I’m still here.”

There is nothing illegal about buying a house at a tax sale. One county employee said there are legislative bills pending to change the system, but nothing ever gets passed.

Short of a miracle, the new owner will take possession of Doris’s home and property on Dec. 23.

What happened to Doris France could happen to anyone.

What do you think? Should the tax code be changed to help people like Doris France? Post your comment under this story.