property tax foreclosure

515 Detroit families have the opportunity to stay living homes that were headed to tax foreclosure auction this fall.

They’re on the list for a buy-back program that involves the city of Detroit, Wayne County, and a non-profit housing group.

Another 50 Detroit families will own the homes they currently live in, thanks to a city program.

After years of being ravaged by property tax foreclosures that claimed more than one in three city homes,  Detroit will see fewer than 5,000 properties go to the annual Wayne County tax auction this fall.

The county announced preliminary 2018 tax foreclosure numbers Friday. They show the county is set to foreclose on 4,676 properties this year, with 1,499 of them occupied properties.

African-American homeownership has fallen further in Michigan than in any other state since 2000, and a growing number of low-income renters in Metro Detroit are “being squeezed from all sides” when it comes to finding affordable housing.

Those are two just two notable conclusions from a series of reports released by the Urban Institute this week about major issues in Southeast Michigan’s housing market.

Detroit has settled a lawsuit filed by the ACLU, alleging the city made it too difficult for residents to learn about, and qualify for, a property tax exemption based on poverty.

Thousands of Detroiters in poverty paid property taxes they didn't owe because they didn't know they were exempt, and the city didn't tell them.  Many lost their homes at tax foreclosure auctions when they couldn't pay the taxes.

One Detroit family celebrated getting a new home Thursday, as they also called for other families like them to receive similar compensation as victims of what they call “illegal” foreclosures.

A new lawsuit says Michigan’s property tax foreclosure laws are unconstitutional and amount to “government sanctioned theft.”

The case was filed this week on behalf of two men who lost Oakland County properties to foreclosure.

One of the men, Uri Rafaeli, lost a rental property in Southfield when he miscalculated the amount of interest he owed on 2011 property taxes by $8.41. Oakland County foreclosed, then sold the home for $24,500.

An effort to help some Wayne County residents from losing their homes to tax foreclosure seems to have stalled. Until the last minute, low-income property owners were being encouraged to apply for tax exemptions, with the hope of preventing their homes from being sold at Wayne County’s annual auction of tax-foreclosed properties.

Detroit City assessor Alvin Horhn’s office promoted the idea that some low-income homeowners might be able to avoid tax foreclosure this year if they hurried to apply for a tax exemption.

Many homes that go into tax foreclosure in Detroit are owned by landlords. The renters are often booted out once the homes are sold at auction.  

In a pilot project, Detroit has bought 80 of these homes where tenants have expressed interest in becoming homeowners.  The city used right of first refusal for the purchases. That means the city can buy the properties before they go to auction, paying only the county and state portions of the taxes owing, but not the city portion.