SALISBURY, Md.- An elderly Wicomico County woman almost lost her home in a tax sale, after she failed to pay a $268 tax bill.
"She was floored by the idea that she could lose her home and so quickly," says Sheri Ewing, family services manager with Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County.
Ewing received the call from Miss. Edna, a 74-year-old homeowner, who was asking for help with her well. After investigating, Ewing realized that Miss Edna was about to lose her home and they took action.
"It's sick that she owns her home; she's been making timely mortgage payments for 26 years, and because she fell on hard times her home went into tax sale," says Molly Hilligoss, executive director, Habitat for Humanity.
Hilligoss says that due to Miss Edna's age and health conditions, she was unaware of the pending bill.
"She's not the only one," says Hilligoss. "In fact, right now when you to the Wicomico County website you can see a list of all the properties that are still up for tax sale, and we went through and we checked every single address, we saw that there are 12 families there, properties that are owner-occupied, and they are on that list."
Now that an investor bought Miss Edna's home, her $268 tax bill is now significantly higher, due to fines, fees, and costs. Wicomico County Financial Director Michele Ennis says this could have been prevented by taking advantage of the county's payment plan for property taxes.
"We are here to help," said Ennis. "If a resident pays up to $100, their home will not go to tax sale, so someone can come in and easily pay $20 a month and once they hit the $100 limit then they're not going to go into tax sale so being proactive is critical,"
Lori Carter, director of Wicomico County's Department of Planning, Zoning, and Community Development, says staying on top of property taxes is also fundamental to receiving other types of help.
"We have several programs to help our residents, but they need to be up to date with their taxes," said Carter. "If they have questions about how much they owe, they should just contact us and we will help in any way we can."
Habitat for Humanity is now working on collecting funds to help Miss Edna get back her home and make some repairs, including a new well, along with paying off her mortgage and other expenses.