On Monday Deana Woodward will be forced to leave the home her family has had for 50 years.

The house was paid off in 2017, however in 2018, Woodward fell behind her water bill.

Unbeknownst to her, the City of Baltimore Finance Department says an owner-occupied home with a final notice bill of $750 or more can be sold in a tax sale, without the owner’s knowledge.

That’s exactly what happened in 2018 when an investment company in New York bought the home for $10,000.

That company sold the home in March of 2023 to another investment company for $49,500. Each sale happened without Woodward’s knowledge.

Now the investment company has filed an eviction notice against Woodward.

“I just don’t understand how somebody is able to buy my house for so many different reasons and then at the end result, I still have to leave,” said Woodward.

“Some number of months ago, we were assured by the city that owner-occupied properties would not be in these tax sales,” said Vignarajah.

However, Mayor Brandon Scott removed owner-occupied properties from tax sales in May of 2023, five years after Woodward’s home was sold.

Despite an effort to stop the eviction, the judge sided with the investment company.

“If we do get evicted on Monday, we really don’t have anywhere to go. I guess we’re going to go to the shelter,” said Woodward.