SOUTHFIELD, Mich. \u2013 An unusual legal battle is brewing over who actually owns a home that\u2019s currently on sale in Southfield. <\/p>\n
Local 4 spoke to both sides. Both say they own it. <\/p>\n
If you look up the home\u2019s address on the Southfield assessor\u2019s database, the homeowners\u2019 names that populate are Tanisha and Antonio Conley. The Conleys have not actually lived in the home for over a decade. <\/p>\n
The saga starts in 2009. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe bought it on a land contract in 2009,\u201d Tanisha Conley said. <\/p>\n
In addition to the Conleys listed as the buyers, a seller\u2019s name is listed. That seller had bought the home a year earlier, in 2008. <\/p>\n
The land contract means the couple had to pay the seller, who is acting as the lender. The seller can cancel the contract if the buyer doesn\u2019t pay.<\/p>\n
Local 4 called the seller to ask about this situation. <\/p>\n
He says the Conleys lived there for a few years, until he had them evicted for not paying. The Conleys had also filed for bankruptcy. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2014, March 25th to be exact, the bankruptcy was discharged,\u201d Tanisha Conley said. \u201cWe included the balance of the property, which is a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Conleys had moved out of the home. Aside from a few letters, they say they didn\u2019t hear about the house for over a decade. <\/p>\n
The entire time, the seller was renting out the home and paying taxes on it. <\/p>\n
The seller tells me that since the couple had defaulted on the contract, he believed the house was in his name. The assessor still had the house listed in the Conley\u2019s name. <\/p>\n
The Southfield assessor tells Local 4 that anytime there is a change in ownership, the proper paperwork must be filed for it to change on their end. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe City Assessor recommends that property owners contact their local Assessing Department with any questions or concerns regarding property ownership or transfers,\u201d Southfield Assessor Justin Prybylski said in a statement. \u201cOur staff can help point property owners in the right direction to prevent issues or assist in resolving them. We often find that issues are ignored or left unaddressed, even though they can usually be resolved relatively easily. Problems related to ownership transfers can snowball over time and may result in significant back taxes due to delayed uncapping. The Assessing Department has many resources available and goes above and beyond to educate the public on matters related to property ownership and taxation whenever possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, in August of this year, we received a letter,\u201d Tanisha Conley said. \u201c\u2018Dear property owners, your house is vacant. You need to come register it, or you\u2019ll face fines.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Around the same time, the seller put the house on the market. The Conleys began to look into the issue and realized the house was still in their name, according to the assessor\u2019s database. <\/p>\n
The seller tells Local 4 that the Conleys came to the house and put up signs that say \u201cNo Trespassing.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSo we are just trying to make sense of how someone can sell a property listed in your name,\u201d Tanisha Conley said. <\/p>\n
The Conleys filed a \u2018Satisfaction of Land Contract\u2019 in Oakland County in October. The seller says there\u2019s a court date in February, where a judge will decide who owns the home.<\/p>\n
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