San Francisco approves auction of $4.4 million vacant home with $340,000 in unpaid taxes and fraud

A vacant mansion in San Francisco, valued at about $4.4 million, is set to be sold at a public tax auction. The property has stood empty for years and has built up more than $340,000 in unpaid property taxes. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution allowing the Treasurer and Tax Collector to sell the Mediterranean-style home at 250 32nd Avenue in the wealthy Sea Cliff neighbourhood. The decision aims to settle a yearlong dispute involving complaints about squatters, police visits and an alleged plan to forge property deeds. The case has drawn the attention of city prosecutors and legal authorities. Because homes worth this much rarely fall so far behind on taxes that the city must force a sale, officials decided to arrange a special tax auction instead of waiting for the usual municipal auction schedule.Unpaid taxes and alleged deed fraudThe property is listed as Assessor’s Block 1391, Lot 014. Wei Wang and her husband bought it in 2013. According to court filings submitted by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, Ms Wang later moved abroad and stopped paying property taxes to the city. As a result, the unpaid amount grew to more than $340,000 ove...