KCK is trying something new to keep families from losing their homes in tax sales
Wyandotte County is taking new steps to help residents keep their family homes after a loved one dies — instead of risking losing them in the annual tax sale.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Homes for Generations Program is designed to help homeowners legally transfer their house titles, used to certify homeownership, into their beneficiaries’ names.
Essentially, the program is meant to keep families from falling into the situation where people are living in a home they technically do not own and risk losing that home to a tax sale or otherwise, Eighth District Commissioner Andrew Davis told The Star.
“This program assists qualified homeowners correct legal ownership of homes that have been passed down through generations but are not legally in the current occupant’s name,” according to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK’s website.
The county clerk’s office has run into situations where people, often widows, don’t have their name on the deed of the house and, thus, don’t technically own their own homes after their spouse dies.
Or, where a grandmother who owned a home died, and her adult grandchildren have been living in the home. But because there isn’t a will or a title in someone else’s name with a clear beneficiary, that home can end up in probate court. And probate court can lead to families fighting over that property, Davis said.
When someone doesn’t own the house they live in, they can’t get access to tax rebates, home repair programs and other local programs that require homeownership to access, Davis said. And unpaid property taxes can land a house in the government’s tax sale.
Through its new Homes for Generations Program, the Unified Government may help pay for court filing fees, foreclosures or other documents related to transferring the title into the correct person’s name. People who qualify for the program must live in KCK, be older than 65 years old or have a disability and meet specific income requirements.
People who qualify and wish to apply for financial assistance to transfer homeownership should call 913-573-5260 or email clearkwest@wycokck.org to get additional information about the application process, according to the Unified Government.
That financial assistance comes first come, first served.
