City Makes Change to Revenue Site To Help You Start Sheriff Sales

[ArcticSplash]

Two new columns have been added to the Revenue Department balance screen:

2537 Sepviva St:


On the right you can see which attorney in the Law Department is handling the Revenue case and the last column shows you who is presently sitting on the lien.

This change is pretty major--the last column, because you had to find that information out before putting in a deed poll deposit.


Depending on who owns the lien:

City/RETU - You must go to the MSB building with a cashier's check to enter a deposit

Linebarger - You must send a cashier's check or money order to Linebarger to start a deposit

GRB - GRB is not accepting citizen deposits at this time but if you call them up and ask to speak with a collections attorney to discuss the property at issue, you may get somewhere with them. Typically GRB only puts things up for sale that are in market rate areas, or a known buyer intent on purchasing the property physically approaches them.

[ShoshTrvls]

2537 Sepviva St:


On the right you can see which attorney in the Law Department is handling the Revenue case and the last column shows you who is presently sitting on the lien.

Um, Shelly Smith is THE city solicitor. I seriously doubt that she is "handling" these cases.

[ArcticSplash]

Um, Shelly Smith is THE city solicitor. I seriously doubt that she is "handling" these cases.

Having trouble learning how to use the quote feature on PhillySpeaks, I see.

Edit: Looks like you've corrected it.

[ArcticSplash]

1132 Shackamaxon:



It's showing who the Solicitor was that the time the lien was drafted, and thus responsible for handling its dispensation.

[raider.adam]

It's showing who the Solicitor was that the time the lien was drafted, and thus responsible for handling its dispensation.

Right, which was Shosh's point. It isn't like you are going to call up Shelley Smith asking for her to call you back about the property lien she is handling.


As for procedure, is Linebarger actually acting on their own? The two vacant lots I acquired next to my house were Linebarger and it took a year and a half for them to go up for auction because they wouldn't do it until Councilman Clarke's office OKed it.

[ArcticSplash]

Right, which was Shosh's point. It isn't like you are going to call up Shelley Smith asking for her to call you back about the property lien she is handling.


As for procedure, is Linebarger actually acting on their own? The two vacant lots I acquired next to my house were Linebarger and it took a year and a half for them to go up for auction because they wouldn't do it until Councilman Clarke's office OKed it.

This will make your head spin. Linebarger and GRB don't really do the Sheriff Sales themselves, they pretty much act as 3rd party debt collectors. They submit batches BACK over to the Law Department for the stuff they want to put into Sheriff's Sale. Then, the captioned case includes both the City attorney and the attorney for the collector against the Respondent. The outside firms do the bulk of the work in noticing, but the cases they bring always seem to be brought in tandem with the Law Department who runs the outsourcing work. That saves the City effort in doing debt collection which is an easily outsourceable job, but getting a Preacipe from a judge is still the City's job.

I'm going to guess the City's answer to why this is; is for Home Rule Charter reasons, rather than a stopgap measure to prevent or amend a sale that the outside firms are pursuing (i.e. Jannie Blackwell wants to stop a foreclosure, she can ask the Law Department to drop it).

As you already know with your lots, City Council has a very broad discretionary powers in the tax sale process. Does Harrisburg actually mandate that county governments MUST perform collections and what circumstances those collections can be suspended? TMK, it only paves the way to allow the County to do it and how it must be done, but nothing forces any County to actually proceed.

That makes me wonder about Green's bill to force Sheriff Sales after 1 year after a lien is tacked on--how that will really work.

[raider.adam]

This will make your head spin. Linebarger and GRB don't really do the Sheriff Sales themselves, they pretty much act as 3rd party debt collectors.

I know. Just saying that even if they know they have a buyer and want it to go up, it wouldn't until the Council person OKed it. Unless something changed, just pointing out it isn't like you can just go down, hand them a deposit and expect it to go up for auction in several months. It took dozens of meetings and phone calls and harassing and eventually a little more devious action to get the ones I was involved with to be put up (and then Councilman Clarke's office had the City bid against me anyway... god I hate remembering this story.)

[ArcticSplash]

I know. Just saying that even if they know they have a buyer and want it to go up, it wouldn't until the Council person OKed it. Unless something changed, just pointing out it isn't like you can just go down, hand them a deposit and expect it to go up for auction in several months. It took dozens of meetings and phone calls and harassing and eventually a little more devious action to get the ones I was involved with to be put up (and then Councilman Clarke's office had the City bid against me anyway... god I hate remembering this story.)

Sheriff Sales don't get pre-approved through Council's office. But if Council is made aware of one that they "care" about, they can become involved and put the breaks on it. Or, in more cases often than not: accelerate it.

I think your case is unique though because Clarke hates you.


BTW if you want to drink your sorrows over that again, I'm up for Good Dog.

[palvar]

Sorry, I'm new to this. If a neighbor's property has a status of LBR (I assume Linebarger), what does this mean?

[raider.adam]

Sorry, I'm new to this. If a neighbor's property has a status of LBR (I assume Linebarger), what does this mean?

The city sold the collections of the lein to them.

[palvar]

The city sold the collections of the lein to them.

Does that mean that the lien is more likely to be repaid or action to be taken?

[ArcticSplash]

Does that mean that the lien is more likely to be repaid or action to be taken?

If there is, it's barely noticeable.

[raider.adam]

Does that mean that the lien is more likely to be repaid or action to be taken?

Doubt it. It would be interesting to see that data though.

A lot of the properties they got were properties where owners have been missing forever. From what I understand, it was done back with Rendell to get a cash infusion by selling off the debts for pennies on the dollar.

[the mule]

Doubt it. It would be interesting to see that data though.

A lot of the properties they got were properties where owners have been missing forever. From what I understand, it was done back with Rendell to get a cash infusion by selling off the debts for pennies on the dollar.

What he said. I'm pursuing a number of long term (10+ yrs) tax delinquent properties out of a list of more than 300. The majority of them them are held by Linebarger or GRB and they're the type with owners who are dead, missing, or moved to Florida. The dogs of the dogs.

[palvar]

What he said. I'm pursuing a number of long term (10+ yrs) tax delinquent properties out of a list of more than 300. The majority of them them are held by Linebarger or GRB and they're the type with owners who are dead, missing, or moved to Florida. The dogs of the dogs.

Huh. The one on my block that Linebarger has is occupied by two employed people. Hopefully they pursue this one more aggressively.

[bluecuracao]

What if the Status column is empty, could that mean that the city has the lien?

[ArcticSplash]

What if the Status column is empty, could that mean that the city has the lien?

Most likely