Well, this is a new one. Imagine living on one of the most expensive and exclusive streets in all of America only to find out someone bought your expensive and exclusive street, for $90,000. That’s what happened to the residents of San Francisco’s Presidio Terrace street after the Presidio Homeowners Association didn’t pay the $994 they owed in taxes on the street. Yup, their street went to the auction block for owing just $994 and was bought for 90 times that amount.
Can someone even buy a street? Well the answer is that it depends on the street. There are 181 private streets in San Francisco, and taxes must be paid on all of them; if not they can be auctioned off to recoup losses.
So, what happened that allowed one of the most expensive streets in America to be auctioned off for tens of thousands for owing a mere $994? The association and its attorney blame a wrong address for misdirecting $14 bills (yes, just fourteen dollars) being sent an accountant who hasn’t worked for the association since the ‘80s.
They have filed a claim and plan to fight to win back the street for their residents. In the meantime, this teaches us all a valuable lesson of the importance of making sure you are paying all of your taxes and how important the information you put down is (addresses, names, etc.). If you are worried about bills falling through the cracks, reach out to a tax professional like Boxelder today and we’ll make sure you everything you owe is accounted for.
