Tony Combs plays with the dog in the front yard of their house at 3023 Noble St. in Anderson as Nikki talks to them from her wheelchair at the front door. The Combses are in a dispute that might make them lose their home over $50 in unpaid property taxes.

ANDERSON, Ind. — Tony and Nikki Combs are no strangers to tough times, but now the Indiana couple could lose their home over a $50 tax bill.

Nikki Combs, 48, and her husband, Tony, 49, moved into the house in Anderson when a parishioner at the former Colonial United Methodist Church purchased the property from the church for $10,000.

In exchange for the purchase price of the house, Tony does work for the parishioner.

Nikki, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2009 and is no longer able to work as a medical assistant, said when they went to the Madison County Treasurer’s Office in 2013, the couple was told the taxes were paid, but they didn’t know who paid them.

“We thought it might have been a random act of kindness,” she told the Anderson (Indiana) Herald Bulletin.

The couple didn’t pay the 2012 taxes due in 2013. And so that year, U.S. Bank Custodian in Colorado purchased the house at a commissioner’s tax sale and was awarded a tax deed on Aug. 31.

An attorney for the couple, Cody Cogswell, said the taxes owed for 2013 amounted to $50, and the bank purchased the house — with an assessed value of $54,000 — for $267.

Cogswell said the family has been negotiating with the bank to buy the house back, but the $50,000 the bank wants is more than the Combses can afford.

“When the tax deed was issued the proper steps were followed,” Cogswell said. “There was nothing the judge could do.

“This is absolutely ridiculous,” he added.

Tony worked for 30 years as a carpenter, but he’s now a full-time caregiver for his wife. Nikki said the couple’s monthly income is $1,600 in disability payments she receives and some funding for their 10-year-old son, Gaven.

“We don’t know when someone is going to come knocking at the door,” Nikki said. “We would have paid the taxes.”

Tony said the couple didn’t know they had a year to redeem the property and only became aware of it when they received a 30-day notice.

“This was the first home we owned,” he said. “We feel like God gave us this one. We went to the courthouse several times and were told the taxes had been paid.”

Through tears, Nikki said she hopes the bank will let them keep the house. She said they would reimburse the bank for any costs.

“I’ve thought about it,” she said of where the couple would live if they have to move. “We’d probably go stay with my parents. We couldn’t afford another house. We’re living month to month.

“This is so wrong,” Nikki continued.

She said their son keeps asking where they’re going to live if they lose the house.

“I tell him we’ll have a place to stay,” she said. “The Court of Appeals is our last hope.”

de la Bastide writes for the Anderson (Indiana) Herald Bulletin.