Plymouth Considers Seizing Beach Property After Check Is Written For Back Taxes

PLYMOUTH (CBS) - Take one look at the view from Frank and Joanne Costa's beachfront home at Saquish Head peninsula, and most people would assume life it pretty good. They would be wrong.

"Life has been tough," Frank told WBZ-TV. "We screwed up. We really did."

A combination of the recession, health issues, and trying to start a new oyster farming business mean the $10,000 in annual property taxes to the Town of Plymouth have not been on the top of the list.

"It's a millionaire spot. And we're not millionaires," said Frank, who is a retired Pembroke firefighter. "We are living in a champagne village on a Pepsi cola budget."

But the letter that arrived in August was stunning: If the couple could not come up with more than $57,000 in delinquent taxes by September 30, then the town would seize the home Joanne's father built in 1958.

"I burst into tears," said Joanne upon reading the letter. "I threw up for about three hours. Paced around the house. And cried… a lot."

A friend who heard what was happening came to the rescue. On the deadline, Tom Fogarty presented a cashier's check to the Town of Plymouth for the full amount of delinquent taxes.

In exchange, Fogarty told WBZ-TV the Costas would get time to sell their property and walk away with all the equity to get a fresh start somewhere new. They would also be able to pay him back for fronting the money during the desperate situation.

There is just one problem: town leaders were considering not cashing the check.

"My fear on this is we accept the payment, and two years from now we are in exactly the same position," Tony Provenzano, an elected official with the Plymouth Board of Selectmen said Tuesday afternoon.

Provenzano, an attorney, said he researched the tax history at the property and it isn't pretty. In the past 20 years, the property has been late on taxes four different times.

The Costa's current situation is by far the most extreme.

Instead of accepting the payment, Provenzano and other town leaders wondered whether the property could serve a municipal purpose. Or the property could be sold by the town for market rate (it is assessed at more than $600,000).

"I'm also thinking of the taxpayers of Plymouth who pay their taxes on a regular basis," Provenzano said. "We can't run this town with folks who only pay their taxes once every five years."

On Tuesday night however, the Board voted 4-1 to vacate the foreclosure, meaning they will accept the check for the delinquent taxes. The dissenting vote came from John Mahoney Jr.

The Costas worried they could have walked away with nothing if they weren't given the opportunity to sell the home themselves.

They also wonder why town leaders could possibly want to own the property. The home is in an extremely isolated neighborhood and can't even be accessed by vehicle, depending on the tide level. The property runs on solar power because it isn't connected to the electrical grid.

"Every dime we have for retirement is in that house," Frank said Tuesday afternoon. "We just want the town to accept the check so we can move on."