The Washington times., 1934-05-05
AFFORDS
No AID FOR
VICTIMS
Outrageous Fees Charged for
Clearing Up Minor Liens
on Property Sold

If you own a piece of property
in the District of Columbia, you
may live on or otherwise occupy
it forever without paying a cent
Of taxes. and no one can do any
thing about it, that is. if you don't
owe any money on the property
or If you don't try to borrow any
smoney on it or make any attempt
to sell it to a second party.
If you do owe money, say a sec
ond or first trust, or if you try to
borrow a few thousand dollars or
that propert~'. or if you try to sell
it and deliver a clear title. . then
you will probably run afoul of the
taX,sale gouger. an institution
peculiar to the District Of Colum'
bia. twin brother of the loan
shark, but exempt under existing
laws from prosecution or restric'
tion.
Unlike Most States
Unlike most of the States OF
The Unioa. the District does not
provide for the ultimate confisca'
ion and resale of property on
which taxes are delinquent. In
nearby Maryland, as we'll as in
most other States, if property is
old at auction for back taxes the
',uyer can, after a period of time
which usually is three years, re
,eive a clear title to the land and
an resell it and in turn deliver a
lear title to the purchaser.
Any sime during the period OF
race the delinquent owner can
,nder the amount of the back
axes, plus penalties and a reason
BILE rate of interest, 8 per cent in
1ost States, and the one VINO
ought it at tax sale must accept
he tender or relinquish all rights
the property.
Ink Title Merely Lien
Not so in the District.
Here. the buyer who pays up the
ock taxes can not receive a tax
lie until two years after the date
f sale, during which time the
original owner may settle with the
District by paying his Arrears and
the accrued penalties. After the
expiration Of the two years the
buyer may receive a tax-title, but
can never receive a clear title and
can never resell the property or
evict the original owner.
His tax title is nothing more
than a tax lien on the property,
and if the original owner does not
owe money on that property or
attempt to sell it, the lien can
never be collected.
There is one classic example IN
the c...< a piece of property III
the hes'H of the business district
on which. no taxes have been paid
in more than 20 years. a prop
ertv which the owner has occu-
MED for a corresponding length OF
time and which has been sold at
tax sale almost every year for the
last two decades, and on which
no tax sale buyer has ever col
Iected or ever can collect a penny
as long as the owner elects to keep
the property and does not try to
use it as the basis of a loan.
Profit In Joker
Under these conditions, it would
seem useless to buy property in
the District at tax sales, but there
are other jokers in the District of
Columbia law which make this a
most profitable racket, one which
has earned millions for syndicates
located in Rochester. New York
and Pittsburg, and which has even
attracted money from as far away
as San Francisco, Cal.
Chief of these jokers is one
which neglects to specify what
rate of interest may be charged
by the tax-sale buyer for the re-
linquishment of his rights or liens.
There are pending now in several
real estate offices cases in which
these sharks are asking as much