Property Tax Attorneys

Fighting for Property Owners and Against Tax Foreclosure

If you are behind on your property taxes or your mortgage, we can help you avoid foreclosure. If a foreclosing governmental unit (often Michigan’s County Treasurers) has commenced foreclosure proceedings or foreclosed on your property, call Little & Boylan now and protect your property rights. There are time constraints in protecting your interest in property, and the legal process is complex, making it difficult for property owners to appropriately respond. Attorneys John Little and Karie Boylan are passionate about fighting for your constitutional rights as property owners and preventing government and mortgage foreclosures.

Call (248) 809-1402 or contact Little & Boylan PLLC online for more information.

What Is Foreclosure and Tax Forfeiture?

If a property owner does not timely pay their Michigan property taxes, the foreclosing governmental unit (FGU) may forfeit your property to the county treasurer on March 1st the year after you become delinquent on your taxes. The FGU will then begin a foreclosure action in circuit court, and the court will enter a judgment of foreclosure, typically in late March of the following year. Be aware that once your property is foreclosed, it can be sold to a new owner, and the county may keep the profits, if you do not claim your surplus proceeds. Again, you have to act fast to protect your rights. Call Little & Boylan for a free phone consultation and know your rights.

Unlike a mortgage foreclosure, there is a very short window to redeem your property after a tax foreclosure. Under Michigan law, a property owner or other interested party may redeem:

• at any time on or before March 31st after the foreclosure judgment; or
• if they contested the foreclosure, within 21 days after the court entered a judgment foreclosing the property.

In certain situations, such as if the property owner meets the federal poverty income standards, they might be able to enter into an installment payment plan to get current on the delinquent amounts they owe and thus stop the foreclosure.

Our attorneys at Little & Boylan PLLC can help you prevent foreclosure or at least get some money back following a foreclosure. If your property has delinquent property taxes attached to it, Attorneys John Little and Karie Boylan can advocate for you pre-foreclosure hearings and post-foreclosure judicial proceedings. If a County Treasurer has already seized and sold your home or property at auction due to delinquent property taxes you owe, contact Little & Boylan to claim your surplus proceeds (the difference between the back taxes, interest, penalties, and fees you owed and the auction selling price).

If you are in an earlier stage of the process, such as if a County Treasurer issued a Notice of Forfeiture against your home or property, Little & Boylan can help negotiate a plan to prevent your home from going into foreclosure. We can also go to court and seek a court order that would force the Treasurer to accept lesser payments or give you more time to pay back taxes. In the case that the County Treasurer has already forfeited, foreclosed, and sold your home at auction, we may be able to undue the foreclosure or force payment to you for the surplus proceeds you are owed. Whatever stage you are at in the foreclosure proceedings, know that Attorneys John Little and Karie Boylan can step in and protect your property rights.

Don’t Let the Government Infringe Upon Your Rights

Little & Boylan has more than 40 years of combined experience in the law, and we have successfully defended mortgage and tax foreclosures. We wholeheartedly believe that a law which allows the government to take a resident’s home or property without just compensation is unconstitutional. We believe that notices that are vague and confusing, violate due process, as they do not notify a property owner that a lawsuit has been filed. As such, Little & Boylan believes property owners have a constitutional right to receive a copy of the Judgment of Foreclosure almost immediately after the Judge signs it. The fact that some property owners learn a judgment has been entered only when the Treasurer’s “TO BE SOLD AT AUCTION” sign is posted on the front lawn is both unconstitutional and unjust.

Call (248) 809-1402 to Discuss Your Case with a Professional

In various Michigan courts, Little & Boylan has raised constitutional challenges to laws and actions that violated property owners’ rights. The Michigan Supreme Court has since ruled former owners have a right under certain circumstances to collect surplus proceeds from the FGU. Another significant development favorably affecting property owners has risen out of COVID-19 court closures, resulting in an extension of the time period in which property owners may redeem their property. Now is the time to act on your property tax or mortgage matter.

Let our team at Little & Boylan PLLC help. Schedule your free consultation by calling (248) 809-1402 or submitting a contact form here.