For those of us who own homes in NH, December can be a time for festivities, decorations and cozy slippers by the fireplace. It’s a time spent with friends and family and for giving and receiving. However there is one holiday package that most of us do not look forward to receiving: the December property tax bill. I won’t bore you with my thoughts on this tax. Instead, for those who deal with this demand from the local authorities, what can be done about it?

It's legal. But that doesn't mean it's fair, said homeowner Marilynn Alexander, who lives on Fairmount next door to one of Cusimano's rentals. The landlord owed $26,200 in taxes and other fees on the bungalow, but bought it back in October for $1,051. "He shouldn't be able to get away with that," said Alexander, a 57-year-old laundry worker who said she scrapes together every year her $1,500 in property taxes at the house where she's lived for 20 years. "That's not a fair break to anybody else out here."