I spent $160k on my home and it was sold behind my back for just $11k – I didn’t get so much as a letter

A MAN is awaiting retributive payment after his town government sold off his home behind his back.

Brent Morgan, 57, was shocked to find out he no longer had property after his Canada locality sold it out from under him in a tax auction, circumventing all legally necessary steps before doing so.

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In 2010, he had bought his 3.8-hectare property for $160,000, reported CBC News.

After the purchase, he planned to build up the land for him and his family, also drawing up schematics for a barn and a workshop to support his carpentry business.

While waiting to build the family moved onto the property in July 2012, living in a trailer before they were forced to leave.

Nine months into their trailer living, the township notified them that they did not have the approval to inhabit the land in a residential capacity due to sewage zoning laws.

They moved out and began living out of a rental property off of his owned land, falling on hard times.

While in the rental, Morgan’s carpentry business began to falter and he fell behind on property tax payments.

The Township of Spallumcheen put up his property for auction in 2017, after Morgan became behind on taxes by $6,700.

The homeowner had no idea the auction was occurring despite being legally entitled to notice and time to pay his tax balance.

Morgan had one year to fall current on his tax payments but instead of being notified of his delinquency, Spallumcheen Township sold off his property.

It was too late for Morgan to step in when the town accepted $11,300 for his home; a nearly 93% discount off of what Morgan had originally paid for it.

Following the sale, he had until September 24, 2018, to pay his taxes and reclaim his land.

The issue was, that Morgan was not made aware of the sale until after this date.

He did not go down without a fight and in May 2022, a Supreme Court judge ordered the township to repay Morgan thousands to make up for their legal blunder.

When Morgan had originally filed he asked for compensation in the amount of what he had paid for the land in 2010, but Justice Gary Weatherill ruled the he deserved far more.

Failure on the part of the local government to follow the legislation…should bring with it in my view, significant consequences.”

Justice Gary Weatherill CBC News

Weatherill found that Morgan was owed the value of the land in the current market, minus owed taxes, amounting to $352,316.

“The exercise of the legislative power to sell property at a tax sale for pennies on the dollar … brings with it a duty on the local government to, among other things, ensure the property owner and charge holder know about the sale and are given ample opportunity … to redeem the property,” Weatherill wrote.

“Failure on the part of the local government to follow the legislation, including failure to notify the owner … brings with it, and should bring with it in my view, significant consequences.”

Weatherill was further empowered to rule as he did when learning of Morgan’s investment into the land.

“The property was the plaintiff’s only piece of real property,” Weatherill wrote in his decision.

“He had no ability to purchase a replacement and has missed out on the significant increase in property values in the area since September 2018.”

“The Tax Sale has deprived him of that increase,” he wrote definitively.

Following the judge’s decision, Morgan’s township issued a public apology, according to Global News.

“Since 2017, the Council of the Township of Spallumcheen has undertaken significant review of our processes and has instituted substantial changes which has included changes to administration and changes in process, ensuring legislative requirements are met,” Doug Allin, Chief Administrative Officer of Spallumcheen said in a statement.

“The Township insurer, Municipal Insurance Association of BC, has provided legal direction and oversight throughout this process to ensure a fair outcome on behalf of the corporation.”

How can your home be sold without your consent?

Your home can be sold from under you for various reasons – here are three key things to look out for:

Tax Sale

• A Tax sale is the sale of property by a governmental entity to recover unpaid taxes by the owner who has reached a certain point of delinquency in their owed payments.
• Before a tax sale takes place, there is a right-of-redemption period where the owner can pay off their debt and reclaim their home.
• Each state has different laws surrounding tax sales but in most areas, the basic requirement is that adequate notice is given to the owner to pay the outstanding money, and any sale must be open to the public.

Foreclosure

• Foreclosures can take place when lenders take control of a property after borrowers have failed to make their repayments.
• Borrowers will receive a Notice of Default, triggering the foreclosure process.
• Homeowners in HOA communities can also see their homes foreclosed by their HOA for falling behind on fees.
• This means that even if you keep up with mortgage repayments, you could still lose your home if your HOA has a lien on your property.
• When such a foreclosure takes place, the sale price only needs to be enough to cover the HOA debt meaning that properties can be sold for much less than they are worth.

Property Fraud

• Criminals can sell or mortgage homes by pretending to be the owner by using a fake or stolen ID.
• Typical targets for property fraud include absent owners like landlords, owners who live abroad, and sole owners of unmortgaged homes.
• The U.S. Sun previously reported on a man whose vacation home worth $300,000 was sold by criminals for just $9,000 – they even had the deed to the property.