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Lawyer raises concerns about fees associated with Franklin County's delinquent tax collection
Lawyer raises concerns about fees associated with Franklin County's delinquent tax collection
Posted: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 9:30 pm
By Casey Fabris
casey.fabris@roanoke.com
981-3234
ROCKY MOUNT — Lawyer Holland Perdue knows at least one Franklin County landowner who has lost her property because of her inability to pay another attorney’s $2,500 fee. ... He tried to save her property, which was about to go to auction because of delinquent real estate taxes.
The $2,500 attorney’s fee is that of James Elliott, whom Franklin County hired in 2009 to collect delinquent real estate taxes. Yorktown-based Elliott specializes in delinquent tax collection and works for more than 20 different localities in Virginia, such as Lynchburg, Radford and Alleghany County, according to his website.
Perdue, who practices in Rocky Mount, brought the issue before the Franklin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday because Elliott acts on its behalf. ... Perdue encountered the issue when he took on the case of a woman who owed a little more than $1,900 in taxes. When he called Elliott in an attempt to prevent the property from being sold, he was told it would come out to just over $5,000, a large chunk of that being Elliott’s fee of $2,500.
....
Perdue looked at other cases Elliott had handled and found that $2,500 appears to be his flat fee, even though it’s often more than the landowner owes on his or her property. ... For landowners who owe taxes on several parcels of land, those fees can quickly add up. Perdue found one case in which the attorney’s fees climbed to $20,000. The landowner had a little over $3,000 in delinquent taxes. ... Perdue said he worries about the number of people who have been in the same situation as his client. ... “I think it’s just an easy way to take property from people that don’t have anything,” Perdue said.
Posted: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 9:30 pm
By Casey Fabris
casey.fabris@roanoke.com
981-3234
ROCKY MOUNT — Lawyer Holland Perdue knows at least one Franklin County landowner who has lost her property because of her inability to pay another attorney’s $2,500 fee. ... He tried to save her property, which was about to go to auction because of delinquent real estate taxes.
The $2,500 attorney’s fee is that of James Elliott, whom Franklin County hired in 2009 to collect delinquent real estate taxes. Yorktown-based Elliott specializes in delinquent tax collection and works for more than 20 different localities in Virginia, such as Lynchburg, Radford and Alleghany County, according to his website.
Perdue, who practices in Rocky Mount, brought the issue before the Franklin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday because Elliott acts on its behalf. ... Perdue encountered the issue when he took on the case of a woman who owed a little more than $1,900 in taxes. When he called Elliott in an attempt to prevent the property from being sold, he was told it would come out to just over $5,000, a large chunk of that being Elliott’s fee of $2,500.
....
Perdue looked at other cases Elliott had handled and found that $2,500 appears to be his flat fee, even though it’s often more than the landowner owes on his or her property. ... For landowners who owe taxes on several parcels of land, those fees can quickly add up. Perdue found one case in which the attorney’s fees climbed to $20,000. The landowner had a little over $3,000 in delinquent taxes. ... Perdue said he worries about the number of people who have been in the same situation as his client. ... “I think it’s just an easy way to take property from people that don’t have anything,” Perdue said.
There are two Holland Perdues who are lawyers in Rocky Mount. The older one is Clyde H. Perdue. The younger one goes by the name of Holland. He went to the Appalachian School of Law. Many years ago, there was a shooting there.
The Law Office of James W. Elliott
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