Betty The Restauranteur

[Tama]

I wonder why she didn't just take the opportunity she got with that inheritance and coast from there. It would've been easy.

Aren't they gamblers though? I recall hearing you mention they could claim gambling winnings as income. That could explain where all the money is going...

[csquared]

It's on a 160-acre parcel out in the woods. It appears there's even a small quarry on the edge of the property. Of course, Betty's husband doesn't want to claim that as income, either. The house and land is worth over $200,000 for a $15,000 loan.

If you foreclose, I want to make an offer! Me and a million other people. How far up the line can you get me?

[Ghel]

That being said, I doubt your bank really wants said properties.

You're right about the restaurant. It's kind of a dump and there's too many restaurants in town already. The bank would probably have a hard time selling it if we foreclosed.

The house, however, would be a huge asset for the bank. It's on a 160-acre parcel out in the woods. It appears there's even a small quarry on the edge of the property. Of course, Betty's husband doesn't want to claim that as income, either. The house and land is worth over $200,000 for a $15,000 loan.

Which, as I'm sure you can see, is why Ted offered to increase the loan against the house to pay the past due property taxes on the restaurant.

[Victory Sabre]

Then he brought up the lapsed homeowners insurance. Betty said she and her husband “don’t care any more.”

So it sounds like we’re going to be foreclosing on Betty’s Family Restaurant unless Betty can somehow come up with over $9,000 to pay her past due property taxes.

Yeah, I'd say that your bank is going to be owning both within the next year or so.

That being said, I doubt your bank really wants said properties.

[dawnfire]

It was only a matter of time

[RealUnimportant]

So the fire's finally been lit... Let's see how quickly she gets a hotfoot.

[morgana]

it sounds like we’re going to be foreclosing on Betty’s Family Restaurant

Lucky you . . .

[Ghel]

I finally have a bit of an update for this thread, with hints of more in the future.

Most of this was related to me by Former Branch Manager, who I suppose needs a better nickname. Since he was the one who said his speech was going to be “like a TED Talk,” I’ll call him Ted. Ted was our Branch Manager for several years, but has since moved to the main branch to be supervisor of each of the branch managers (which we don’t currently have).

Betty’s up to her old tricks again, meaning she hasn’t paid the property taxes on the restaurant for three years. It will go tax forfeit next year if she doesn’t pay them. When I called her up last month to see what she intended to do, she said she’d raised prices on her menu. She also hasn’t paid her homeowners insurance, so we’re in the process of force-placing to cover that loan.

Since I haven’t gotten a good response from Betty, Ted decided to take a shot at it. He called Betty a week ago at the restaurant, which is the only place she actually answers the phone. Messages left at the house or on cell phones aren’t returned. Ted explained that if she didn’t come up with a plan to pay the property taxes within a week, we would start foreclosure proceedings.

Today it’s been a week. He calls her again, and they get in a screaming match. She accuses him of harassing her. He says he’s trying to prevent the restaurant from going tax forfeit. And he needs a solid answer from her, or else we start foreclosure. She says she’s setting aside $25 a day for the property taxes. (Never mind that it would take about a year to save up enough to pay the past due property taxes that way. Also never mind that her checking account is frequently overdrawn.) Ted tells her she needs to contact the county, set up a confession of judgment so they’ll accept payments, and provide documentation of it to us. (Another aside, this probably would also not work. The county typically wants the owner to pay the current years’ taxes before setting up the rest for payments. Betty would have to get money from her husband for that, and he won’t do it.)

Ted also offered to increase the mortgage on their house (but definitely not the restaurant) in order to pay the past due property taxes, then escrow for it going forward. Betty said her husband wouldn’t agree to that, which is an issue we’ve run into in the past, as this thread can attest.

Then he brought up the lapsed homeowners insurance. Betty said she and her husband “don’t care any more.”

So it sounds like we’re going to be foreclosing on Betty’s Family Restaurant unless Betty can somehow come up with over $9,000 to pay her past due property taxes.

[taxguykarl]

Not showing a profit is one thing, but assets are assets.

....and tax debts are exempt from bankruptcy

[RealUnimportant]

"I ain't got no money, I just got these cows."
"Fine, we'll take the cows."
"Er, did i say I had cows? I meant a field. For cows to graze in."
"A field? Okay, we'll have that too."

Not showing a profit is one thing, but assets are assets.

[Mental_Mouse]

... And the farm the turnip was grown in, which is more to the point.

[Ironclad Alibi]

That's possible, but I would think that if Betty's husband is trying to make it appear he's not making a profit on his business, then I would think that they might threaten to take his business, but I don't know that they can, as the saying goes, "squeeze blood from a turnip".

But if the government can't get the blood from the turnip, they will take the turnip juice, and then some.

[mjr]

So, Betty's husband may be in for some interesting times.

That's possible, but I would think that if Betty's husband is trying to make it appear he's not making a profit on his business, then I would think that they might threaten to take his business, but I don't know that they can, as the saying goes, "squeeze blood from a turnip".

[nutraxfornerves]

There was a situation in my family where a business owner wasn't filing payroll taxes to the state & the feds.

We learned that the ability of the state & the feds to go after a spouse depends on how the business is structured (sole owner, partnership, corporation, etc.), whether it is a community property state, state laws about spousal property (which the Feds go by), the existence of prenups, etc. In our case, the government was legally able to garnish the spouse's wages and put a lien on some spousal property.

So, Betty's husband may be in for some interesting times.

[Tama]

Or at least that situation in the back that never gets resolved or only gets resolved in the last episode