Did you know that your county government can sell your delinquent property-tax debt to a private investor?
The county gets paid. The investor gets the right to collect the debt, charge interest, and potentially foreclose on your home.
You can start with a property-tax bill you cannot afford and end up fighting to keep the roof over your head while a private company makes money from your hardship.
That is what is happening in Ohio.
I recently spoke with Jasson Farrier, the Ohio Housing Nerd, about Ohio’s property-tax crisis and the private companies buying delinquent tax certificates from county governments.
Jasson is a realtor and real-estate investor who has spent months investigating property-tax delinquencies across Ohio. He is trying to answer a basic question: If so many Ohioans are falling behind on their property taxes, where are all the tax foreclosures?
The answer, at least in some counties, is that the county has already been paid.
The homeowner’s debt has been sold.
