Betty The Restauranteur

[mjr]

Since we're not sure how informed Betty's husband is, we're insisting that they both come in to discuss it all.

So in this case, what happens if they don't?

I don't know if you know, but does the husband make that much money? The kind where he can look at this as "Betty's Hobby", and not really care too much about what happens to the restaurant?

Does the husband know about the liens?

It almost seems like they're trying to put off the inevitable as long as possible.

[Ghel]

What happens if they don't come in? It depends on whether they get the real estate taxes paid. If they don't, the county will take the restaurant property in 2020. And we'll probably let that happen. It sounds to me like the upper management of the bank doesn't want to put any money into pursuing legal action.

I have no idea how much money the husband makes, since we don't have any financial information more recent than 2011. When he came in to sign the extension on the house mortgage in 2014, he said he could show income by selling some cattle, but he doesn't want to show a profit on their taxes.

He seemed surprised at that time when I told him there was $6000 of past due real estate taxes owing, so I doubt he knows about the tax liens, either. And now, 4 years later, there's another $6000 of past due real estate taxes owing again.

I think Betty's in denial and her husband's in the dark. She doesn't want to believe her business is failing, and it seems like he is willfully ignorant of anything to do with the business.

[taxguykarl]

whether they get the real estate taxes paid. If they don't, the county will take the restaurant property in 2020. And we'll probably let that happen. It sounds to me like the upper management of the bank doesn't want to put any money into pursuing legal action.

That would clearly be throwing good money after bad. From your prior Betty posts, it seems to me the bank already netted what revenue that can possibly result from this.

[Ironclad Alibi]

The saga of Betty the Restaurateur would make a good miniseries for TV. In each episode the viewing audience would anxiously await to see how Betty once again avoids paying her bills. It is a miniseries that could go on for years, decades even.

[Tama]

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

[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.

[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".

[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.

[Mental_Mouse]

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

[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.

[taxguykarl]

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

....and tax debts are exempt from bankruptcy

[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.

[morgana]

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

Lucky you . . .

[RealUnimportant]

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

[dawnfire]

It was only a matter of time