February 12, 2025 by Sydney Perez
Lone Star Legal Aid’s Amir Befroui and April Harmon Fix Clerical Error, Saving Homeowner from Foreclosure
Amelia bought a home directly from a homeowner. Amelia and the seller did not use a title company to finalize the sale and purchase of the home. She also agreed to buy the property as is, meaning she would be responsible for repairing any issues with the property once the sale was finalized. Thirty-six years later, Amelia came to Lone Star Legal Aid for assistance.
The previous owner of Amelia’s home received the property from a married couple via gifts in their will. Through the probate process, the legal description of the property was written incorrectly, listing the length of the property as 267 feet. When Amelia purchased the property, she was also told the length of the property was 267 feet. Little did she know, due to mistakes in the documents prepared by the prior owner, Amelia actually only owned 167ft.
Title companies identify problems that are not visible when you are first interested in a home or property, such as liens, unpaid taxes, judgments, property boundary issues, or ownership conflicts. They provide title insurance, which can make you feel secure and reduce the chances of financial loss. Unfortunately, Amelia did not have that protection when she bought her home. Many years later, a problem landed on her doorstep.
Harris County and Aldine ISD filed a lawsuit against Amelia for unpaid property taxes on the 50 feet of land next to her yard. It turns out that the 50 feet were a part of what Amelia believed was her 267 feet of land. Amir Befroui, the Supervising Attorney and Managing Attorney of the Foreclosure Prevention Project at Lone Star Legal Aid, alongside his law clerk, Aprill Harmon, interviewed Amelia. Amelia explained what happened in as much detail as possible, and after determining her eligibility, they took on her case. Her goal in receiving help from LSLA was to protect her property from tax collection and foreclosure. She worked hard as a single mother to escape an abusive relationship, raise her 2 now-adult children, and pay off the mortgage on her home. She had since retired, and this property tax collection lawsuit threatened to upend everything she had worked so hard to protect.
Amir and April did in-person research by measuring Amelia’s home to verify the length and width she believed she owned. They also did extensive document review of the deed history of the land, going back to the 1920s when Amelia’s neighborhood was originally created. The length of Amelia’s yard was actually 167ft, which matched the yard that was fenced in when Amelia purchased the property in 1988. While the length of the property differed from the original deed by 100ft, it also meant that Amelia was not at risk of having her home seized to pay property taxes to Harris County and Aldine ISD. In other words, property taxes were owed on a piece of land right next to Amelia’s yard, but she was sued in order to clear up the ambiguity. No one had researched this issue and explained it to Amelia before. Amir recalls that he “explained the mistake in the legal description to [his] client and how it obligated Harris County, et al and Aldine to sue her.” However, Amir and April were able to assure Amelia that there was a clear path to protecting her rights and property.
As the case was wrapping up, Amir worked with the lawyers for both taxing groups and got them to agree to change the judgment. He attended a new tax court trial date, shared the agreement in court, and made sure the report and proposed judgment matched what everyone agreed on. The tax master signed the report and recommendation, and the district court signed the final judgment. Because of the hard work of our Foreclosure Prevention Unit, Amelia was able to save her home from tax foreclosure and avoided paying $15,000 in taxes and special fees.
Names have been changed to protect the identity of the client(s).
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. LSLA focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety, stability, health, and wellbeing; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, the aging, survivors of crime and disasters, the unemployed and underemployed, the unhoused, those with limited English language skills, and the LGBTQIA+ community. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org
Sydney Perez
