Elizabeth Vermillera, a retired pharmaceutical technician, spends her days handing out donated clothes and food to people in Baltimore. Since 1997, she has lived with a Shih Tzu and a fox terrier in a rowhouse that her dad gave her.
In 2021, the city notified Vermillera that she might lose her home due to unpaid property taxes. She panicked. Vermillera, who is disabled and unable to work, lives on a limited income.
She says she paid $300 of the $600 in taxes she owed for 2019. Then in 2020, she paid the city another $300, intending for that to cover the 2019 balance. However, her 2020 taxes were due so the city applied part of the last $300 payment to her 2020 tax bill. The notice said the remainder of the unpaid 2019 taxes was overdue and Vermillera also owed interest and other fees.
She turned to the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service for help. Aja’ Mallory, a lawyer at the nonprofit, which helps people having financial difficulties, worked with Vermillera and the city to sort out the problem. She was able to keep her home.