Can a Massachusetts town take an abandoned house for back taxes faster than usual?
Yes. A tax-title holder normally waits 12 months before asking the Land Court to end the owner's right to redeem, but a city or town can file at any time once the buildings have been found to be abandoned property.
When a town has taken land for unpaid taxes and the treasurer has reason to believe its buildings are empty, the treasurer must ask the building inspector to inspect them. If the inspector finds the buildings abandoned, the owner gets a notice saying that failing to fix the conditions within 30 days will lead to proceedings to end the right of redemption.
Once the inspector's affidavit of abandonment is recorded, the treasurer must file in the Land Court to foreclose all rights of redemption. The same early filing applies when the treasurer certifies that the amount needed to redeem is more than the property's assessed value.
How can a Massachusetts town make an owner secure or tear down an abandoned building?
The inspector then notifies the owner, tenant or mortgagee in possession in writing to remove a dangerous building or make it safe, or to secure an abandoned one. If they keep refusing or neglecting the order, the inspector must have the building made safe, taken down or secured.
The town's costs become a debt the owner owes once the work is done and the owner is sent the bill. The owner, tenant or mortgagee in possession also faces a fine of at least $100 for every day the neglect continues after notice.
A city council or select board can also, after notice and a hearing, declare a burnt, run-down or dangerous building a nuisance to the neighborhood and order what happens to it. An unpaid bill for that demolition can be added to the property's tax bill.
Can a Massachusetts court appoint a receiver to fix up a neglected house?
Yes. In a case to enforce the state sanitary code, a court can appoint a receiver for the property. Once appointed, the receiver must promptly repair the property and keep it safe and healthful.
To cover repair costs and loans, the receiver gets a lien that comes ahead of every other lien or mortgage except municipal liens.
For a vacant home in receivership, the court may let the receiver sell it to a nonprofit at fair market value in its current condition. The nonprofit must agree to fix the code violations and rehab the home for sale to a first-time buyer earning no more than 120 percent of the area median income.
If the owner or lender shows the intention and ability to fix the violations, the court must pause that sale hearing to give them a reasonable time.
What happens when property taxes go unpaid on a Massachusetts house?
If a property tax isn't paid within 14 days after a demand, the tax collector may take the land for the town after giving 14 days' notice. Anyone with an interest in the land can redeem it before a foreclosure petition is filed by paying the tax title account plus 8 percent interest.
For a home, that notice must be mailed to the taxpayer, posted on the property and published on the town or city website. After a taking, the collector may take possession of the property and collect its rent until the tax title is redeemed.
After the Land Court's judgment is final, the town or tax-title buyer has 30 days to choose whether to keep the property or sell it. It must then tell the former owners how to claim any excess equity.
Holding a vacant Massachusetts house you can't keep up with, with the mortgage also behind? This guide explains how foreclosure plays out in Massachusetts.
Who do you tell about an abandoned building in Massachusetts?
The local building inspector. Once the inspector hears, by report or otherwise, that a building is unused, uninhabited or abandoned and open to the weather, the inspector must inspect it.
In Boston, the city says the easiest and fastest way to report a code violation is Boston 311, through the 311 app or the online form.
You can also tell me where it is. I'll find out who owns it and reach out about buying it and fixing it up.