An 89-year-old woman who lost her home because of $572 in unpaid taxes will get it back from the man who bought the million-dollar property in a government auction for $15,000.
Helene Shue, who has lived on her 41-acre farm near Hershey, Pa., for five decades, had paid her taxes in full every year – including this one – but was short in her 2001 payment, the Harrisburg Patriot-News reported.
The buyer, Philip Dobson of Middle Paxton Township, Pa., informed Shue’s nephew, John Arndt, he would give back the land after the story gained national attention.
Dobson, a business owner who invests in real estate, said, according to the paper, he “had no idea when I bought it that there was an 89-year-old widow living there. I found that out when I was reading the newspaper.”
The decision to give it back, he said, “was a no-brainer, a moral issue, not a legal one. The property should be returned to her.”
“I got something better than a million-dollar property,” he told the Harrisburg daily. “I got a hug from a little old lady. That was worth more than anyone could imagine.”
The county has agreed to reimburse Dobson.
Arndt and Dobson went to Shue’s home together to give her the news.
“Oh, my God, I can’t believe it,” Shue said, hugging Dobson and her nephew. “I won’t forget this day.”
The land and home in South Hanover Township has apple, cherry and peach orchards along with beef cattle and pigs Shue named after family members, the paper reported. She is so fond of the property she once turned down a $1 million offer for it.
The county’s tax bureau maintained it gave her all the proper notification before putting up the land for auction, including posting notices on her door.
But when Arndt learned of the sale, he filed a petition with Dauphin County Court to intervene. Officials then set up a meeting between Dobson and Arndt, who said he was “overwhelmed” when Dobson agreed to give the land back, according to the Patriot-News.
“Mr. Dobson is a fine, upstanding person,” Arndt said, putting an arm around Dobson’s shoulders. “When the land was sold, my aunt said, ‘This could kill me.’ Now, she has it back.”
Arndt’s attorney, Anthony McBeth, said the county tax-claim bureau does its best to follow the law, the paper reported. But he believes the law itself needs to allow for better screening so people such as Shue, who have a good track record of payments, “do not have all they worked for exposed to a sale.”
Arndt said his aunt planned to pay the $572 tax bill yesterday.
“This had a happy ending,” he told the Patriot-News. “I plan to help her more with her mail and bills after this so nothing falls between the cracks.”
