En español | Eileen Battisti's mountain of troubles began when she paid her property taxes six days late in 2009, causing a late-payment charge of $6.30 to be added to her account.

The following year, Battisti mailed in a check for the full amount noted on her tax bill. What the bill didn't show was that Battisti also owed the county $234.72 as a result of interest and other charges added to that original late fee.

That shortfall was enough to ultimately prompt her local tax collectors in Beaver County, Pa., to sell the house in a tax sale.