County
says Grove must pay $ 600 fee to record her deed |
Wednesday, May 10, 2000
© Copyright 2000 Starbanner.com
By AUSTIN L. MILLER
Staff Writer
OCALA — Anne Grove faces a problem to officially
reclaiming her property. It will cost her more than $ 600 to record her
deed, and she says she doesn't have the money.
As of April 25, county records show the
property, at 6130 N.E. 61st.Ave. Road, as being sold to trustee David E.Midgett.
Midgett has since signed a quit-claim deed
relinquishing his right to the property and given Grove the key to her
home. However, county officials say Grove must pay $ 620.20 in documentary
stamps to record the deed in her name. The county is required by law to
collect 70 cents per $ 100 on the balance of the mortgage, which is $ 88,572.87.
If Grove doesn't do so, Midgett will be
the owner should anything happen to Grove, according to Chief Deputy Clerk
Jack Suess.
"In order for her name to be back on the
deed, she has to come down to the courthouse and let us know about it so
we can put her name back on the deed since it changed hands", Suess said.
"therefore, it's important for Mrs. Grove to do this as quick as possible.
Right now, if somebody wants to know who owns the home, his name would
pop up."
For Grove, it was one more frustrating
development.
"Why should I be bothered with this right
now?," she said. "Didn't they sign it over to me? I'm sick and tired of
it. Right now, I am a nervous wreck."
Grove said the only way, she can raise
the money is by not paying some of her other bills.
"I don't have it," she said. "Where am
I going to find $ 600 from to confirm something that I know I have a right
to? That is not right. Now I don't know what to do."
Grove spent five days in Marion County
Jail after she was evicted for not paying $ 1,200 in homeowners' association
fees and was arrested for battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting
arrest with violence."
In addition to paying for the documentary
stamps, Grove must fill out a one-page document, which Marion County Court
officials will enter it into their database as an official record.
"That is why we want her to come down here
to us," said Donna Gaffin, coordinator of official records for Marion County.
" The Department of Revenue audits us, and if we don't have this on our
books, then we can be in trouble."
Suess said the department of Revenue could
waive the documentary stamp tax if Groves provides a compelling argument
for them to do so.
In the meantime, Palm Chevrolet has come
to the aid of Grove by offering to fix her GMC truck, which was towed away
but later returned, and take over her $ 500 deductible on her Allstate
insurance.
"The public needs to help this poor old
lady and I'm doing my part," said Albert Cuillo, owner.
"This is an unfortunate incident."
Friday, May
12, 2000
Attorney tells story of
bids
Attorney says Grove ignored calls |
By Susan Latham Carr - Staff Writer
© Copyright
2000 Starbanner.com
OCALA -- David Midgett was the high bidder
on Anne Grove's house, which was foreclosed because she failed to pay her
homeowners' fees for five years; He said the 74-year old widow ignored
all his attempts to resolve the problem.
Midgett, an attorney with dean & Dean,
bid on behalf of a land trust, for which he was trustee. Land often are
set up by attorneys for a single land investor or group of investors to
buy property. The property purchased is recorded in the trust's name shielding
the identity of the participants.
"Mrs. Grove ignored every letter sent to
her for five years," Midgett said. She ignored notices of sale, too, and
did not return Midgett's calls.
The day before she was evicted, Midgett
went to Grove's home.
"I personally visited her at her house
to see if there was anything else we could do," Midgett said. He said he
went to her home to determine if she was mentally competent and to make
her an offer.
"She ordered me off the property. I was
there to explore opportunities other than serving the writ of possession."
The writ gives the new owner the right to enter and use the home. He said
the offer presented was much less than kicking her out of the property.
A lien was placed on Grove's Northeast
61st Avenue Road home for the homeowners fees she owed. Interest, late
charges and attorney's fees kept mounting over the time, bringing the total
due to the Silver Meadows North Property Owners' Association Inc. to $
3,986.77.
When Grove ignored repeated letters, calls
and summons from the court and the attorneys, the judge ordered the property
foreclosed to pay the lien to the homeowners' association.
"I think she believed she couldn't loose
her home as long as she was paying her mortgage," Midgett said, "She was
legally incorrect. Mrs. Grove was wrong. Her deed restrictions provided
she could lose her home."
When the property was put on the block,
Midgett was asked by the land trust members to bid on the property.
Midgett was the successful bidder, offering
$ 2,400 for the home which is valued at $ 151,000. When buying the foreclosed
property, the members of the trust, whom Midgett declined to identify because
of client confidentiality, became responsible for paying Grove's $ 88,000
mortgage.
The mortgage was not part of the foreclosure
and was never at risk.
"The trust took possession of the property
subject to the existing mortgage," he said.
The total cost of the home to the land
trust members was $ 90,400, plus sundry expenses. If they could sell the
house for its value, minus expenses, they likely could realize a profit
of about
$ 55,000-$ 60,000.
"Still a good investment for the investors,"
Midgett said. "She would have lost a significant amount of equity," he
said about Grove.
The sale came to the public's attention
when a Marion County Sheriff's deputy went to Grove's home on April 28
to remove her because she had not vacated the property. According to sheriff's
Office reports, Grove bit and hit the deputy, who put her on the floor
and handcuffed her. She was arrested and taken to jail, where she remained
for five days. Her personal belongings subsequently were placed at the
curb, a legal maneuver under Florida Statute 83.62, which protected the
trust. By moving the goods to the property line, the trust avoided liability
for Grove's property.
There were two attempts to sell Grove's
home.
The first time, the high bidder John Maze,
bid $ 40,000 against Midgett's $ 39,000 offer. After paying the $ 2,000
deposit, Maze backed out of the deal and forfeited his $ 2,000, which was
used to pay expenses to advertise the re-sale of the property, and the
balance went to the homeowners' association, which had placed the lien
on Grove's home.
At the second bid, the homeowner association's
lawyer bid $ 2,300, the balance of what they were owed, and Midgett bid
$ 2,400.
"Standard procedure is to bid $ 100 more
than the other guy," Midgett said.
After public sympathy for Grove's
plight arose, trust members directed Midgett to return the house to GRove.
Grove's criminal charges had been dropped, she was released from jail and
was being housed at the Salvation Army.
The trust members gave up the property
and Dean & Dean paid the other costs incurred. Midgett said he did
not know how much his firm paid but they picked up such expenses as the
bid cost, movers, locksmith, process server and documentary stamps to record
the trust's deed.
Grove now must pay documentary stamp charges
of about $ 620 to re-record the deed in her name. Dean & Dean will
not pay those charges.
Midgett denied that there was any bidding
collusion between him and the homeowners' association attorney, William
King, or with John Maze.
He said King bid the amount his client
was owed based on the court's judgment.
"Banks and homeowners' associations rarely
bid more than the judgment," Midgett said.
Maze was unaware that there was a mortgage
on the property and decided against the deal when he learned of it, Midgett
said.
Does he feel sorry for Grove?
"I don't feel any more sympathy for a 74-year-old
woman who doesn't pay her bills than I do for a 25-year-old woman with
two kids who doesn't pay her bills," Midgett said. |