Property Taxes

The county will put the home up for auction after foreclosing on the tax lien. You will have to come up with money to pay the tax debt and get it taken care of as soon as possible. If your brother is not paying rent, you need to have him legally evicted, too, and you need to find a tenant who will pay rent on a reliable basis, enough to cover the taxes and other expenses associated with owning the house. Please get a real estate attorney to help you with the eviction process and with the back tax payments (you need to be sure that you get all liens properly cleared or the debt may continue to haunt you even after you've paid it). You may be able to get help from a local legal aid organization for these if funds are really that tight for you, but you MUST be sure that all tax lien clearning and eviction steps are properly followed, to protect yourself. Unfortunately, if you can't get a reliable tenant and you can't afford to pay the expenses of owning the property from other funds, you really need to consider selling the property if you can get the tax mess cleaned up. Not paying the taxes is never a good option: It just ends up costing you much more in the long run. I understand how attached you must be to the home you grew up in, but sentiment should not override reality. Best wishes to you, and seek help as soon as possible.