BALTIMORE — A man whose home was left to him after his father bought it for a dollar said the city of Baltimore has taken the home due to unpaid property taxes.
Now, he’s demanding the city give the home back to him and his family after believing there may have been a violation of the takings clause of the constitution.
Anthony Smothers said the home was bought as part of the $1 homes program under Mayor William Donald Schaefer.
“I’m a person with cerebral palsy. I practically put myself through college. My dad bought his house when I was probably in seventh grade,” Smothers said.
Smothers, who many know as Tony, is now 61-years-old.
He said for as long as he can remember the home that sits in the 1,000 block of West Barre Street has been in his family. This comes after his father bought it back in the late 70’s early 80’s. His attorney Thiru Vignarajah said during that time the program was created to help rebuild communities.
“Certain neighborhoods, certain families helped rebuild the fabric of Baltimore by taking advantage,” Vignarajah said.
Tony said right now, around 50 years later, he and his siblings who inherited the home from his father are on the brink of having it stripped away through a foreclosure that followed a tax sale.
“This is my home, I love it here. I don’t understand why this is happening but it’s happening,” Smothers said.
“They sold this house which is worth over $200,000 for unpaid taxes of $12,000, they sold it for 75K for a fraction of its real value,” Vignarajah said.
City Council President Nick Mosby said while he can’t comment directly on Tony’s situation, during his time as state delegate, he passed a legislation that ended draconian practice of taking people homes based on late water bills.
He also supported efforts to remove owner-occupied homes from tax sale foreclosures, especially in cases involving veterans, elderly, or disabled citizens. He agreed the process need to be reimagined to make it less predatory and find solutions that better serve our citizens.
“In the past three years, there have been 1,300 houses sold in tax sales in Baltimore. You’ve set up assistant that is stealing people’s houses draining the equity that they have earned in their homes and selling it for a dime on the dollar that is a violation of the takings clause of the constitution,” Vignarajah said.
Tony said it’s the memories of his father building the home out from a shell is what stays with him, and its why he and his attorney are demanding the city returns the home to its rightful owner, while figuring out a better system for people facing the same issues like his neighbor who’s also disabled with autism.
“I look at him I can’t give up,” Smothers said.
“You picked on the wrong man, you picked on the wrong street, you picked on the wrong family,” Vignarajah said.
