A Man Lost His Longtime Home Over Just a Few Hundred Dollars. Now He Has It Back

• Kevin Fair initially had a lien placed on his home after he was unable to pay $588 in overdue property taxes
• When Fair couldn’t pay a private investor that purchased the lien, Scotts Bluff County in Nebraska awarded the home title and equity to that investor
• But then, following a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling August, Fair and the private investor reached a settlement — resulting in the return of Fair’s home

After a six-year legal battle, a Nebraska man will get his home back after initially losing it over just a $600 debt.

According to the Associated Press and NBC affiliate WOWT, Kevin Fair and his wife had lived in their Scottsbluff, Neb., house for nearly 30 years.

However, Fair lost title to the home when he was unable to pay $588 in overdue property taxes, after his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2013, the AP reported.

Scotts Bluff County then placed a lien on the home and, in 2015, sold that lien to a private investor, which paid the home’s taxes for the following three years.

When Fair couldn’t pay the accrued $5,268 in taxes, interest and fees to the investor, the county gave the house’s title and equity to the investor.

According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, an appellate law firm that represented Fair, the home — which was originally given to Fair and his wife as a wedding present – was worth about $60,000.

According to Legal Aid of Nebraska, the state’s law at the time allowed counties “to sell property tax liens to private parties when homeowners fall behind on their real estate taxes … By paying the tax lien and any subsequent taxes, these private parties can take ownership of the property after three years.”

“Nebraska law allowed private tax collectors to keep such windfalls at the expense of property owners like Kevin and Terry [Fair’s wife],” Pacific Legal Foundation said in a news release.

In an interview with WOWT, Fair said: “They stand to make the money, and I won’t have anything after living here for 25 years.”

The AP reported that the Nebraska Supreme Court initially decided against Fair in 2022.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court then asked the state court to reexamine its ruling.

This past August, the Nebraska Supreme Court ultimately decided in favor of Fair and ordered the private investor to pay just compensation, the Pacific Legal Foundation said — adding this week that Fair and the investor reached an amicable settlement resulting in the return of his home title.

In 2023, Nebraska revised its law to help homeowners who fall behind on their property taxes and prevent home equity theft, according to the AARP and The Nebraska Examiner.

But Fair’s legal victory is bittersweet, the AP reported, as his wife, Terry, died in 2019.

And Fair himself is facing health issues: According to a GoFundMe established to help him, he suffered a stroke in November. As a result, his home needs a new ramp to accommodate his need for a walker.

Christina Martin, a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, said in a statement following the settlement that “we are so happy that Kevin can stay in his home that he shared with his late wife.”

“Kevin’s case affirmed that home equity is property protected by the Constitution,” Martin said. “The government can’t take it without paying just compensation. That Mr. Fair will be able to keep his home is especially good news, given recent health setbacks.”

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As of Friday, Dec. 27, the GoFundMe for Fair has raised more than $11,000.

PEOPLE contacted Scotts Bluff County’s government on Friday, Dec. 27, for comment.