Manistee County Sold a Michigan Woman's Home Over Unpaid Taxes and Kept the Profit

She Underpaid a Property Tax Bill. So the Government Seized Her Home, Sold It—and Kept the $102,636 Profit. - Billy Binion

• In 2021, Manistee County, Michigan, took the title on Chelsea Koetter's home in response to a small debt she owed on her 2018 property taxes...
• Her situation instead only grew more absurd. Four months after seizing her home, which she shared with her two sons, the government auctioned it off for $106,500. Then it kept the profit.
• All told, Koetter owed the government $3,863.40, which included her initial tax debt, as well as penalties, interest, and fees. She does not contest she was obligated to pay that. At issue is whether or not the county acted lawfully when it pocketed the remaining $102,636 after selling her house, in a practice known as home equity theft...