Original Story: detroitnews.com
Wayne County suburbs increasingly are buying tax-foreclosed homes and selling them to developers who flip them for profits, prompting criticism that city officials are driving residents from their homes. A Rochester real estate lawyer is following this story closely.
In Lincoln Park, several former owners still living in their homes are pleading with city officials to stop the developers from evicting them. The city bought 90 tax-foreclosed homes this summer from the county treasurer before they could be sold at an annual auction open to the public.
The city’s goal was to stop blight and prevent absentee landlords from purchasing the homes. But former owners including Marvin Barski Jr. said they should have another chance to save their homes. He lost a brick ranch that his family has owned for 60 years because of an unpaid $1,200 bill.
He just recently got an eviction notice from the developer, JSR Funding, based in Warren.
“It has made me so sick,” said Barski, 58, an aircraft mechanic. “This house means everything to me. I grew up in this house. ... I don’t know where I will go.”
Similar stories are echoing throughout the county, as suburbs are taking advantage of a county policy that allows municipalities to buy properties before the online auction. Taylor purchased 106 properties, while Redford Township took 76, Dearborn, 35, and Garden City, 28.
After pleas to the City Council, Dearborn recently resold eight occupied tax-foreclosed homes to former owners with restrictions they maintain them, a city spokeswoman said.
Barski could have avoided foreclosure. By law, homes are foreclosed after taxes go unpaid for three years. A Rochester real estate lawyer assists clients with relations between owners, relations between owners and the community, and in landlord and tenant relations.
Barski missed several deadlines to make payments on 2012 taxes, but was current on 2013-2015 bills. He said he was confused, had surgery and didn’t realize paying the oldest debt would prevent foreclosure.
“I feel dumb, gullible and stupid,” said Barski.
Lincoln Park Emergency Manager Brad Coulter said he can’t help Barski or other homeowners who haven’t paid their tax bills because the city can’t go back on the contract with the developer, which was competitively bid.
“If they had gone through the tax auction, they’d be going through the same system,” Coulter said of the former homeowners. “We are in this tough spot of ‘Where have you been for the last six months?’”
“We could have helped point you toward assistance.”The city sold the 90 homes to JSR for the $836,000 in back taxes owed. That’s the amount Lincoln Park paid the county for the homes.
JSR paid the current summer taxes and water bills and will invest at least $15,000 per house rehabbing them. The company keeps any profit from the sale.
“The city’s housing stock is significantly improved and taxable values are increased,” Jim Budziak of JSR wrote in an email to The News. “Had the city not exercised its right of first refusal, the properties would have been sold at the Wayne County auction and the city would be subject to the whims of individual/investor auction purchasers.”
Garden City has a similar deal with JSR to rehab 17 homes. Mayor Randy Walker said he feels sympathy for homeowners but the program will help bring new residents in.
“We have to bring property values back up,” Walker said. “I don’t buy into these people saying they had no idea (about the foreclosure). ... There is a consequence for everything.”
Barski’s attorney Tarek Baydoun argues the developer’s contract should be voided because it doesn’t meet the law’s requirement that there be a “public purpose” when the city buys an owner-occupied tax foreclosure. Metro Detroit homeowners concerned about foreclosures should contact a Rochester real estate lawyer at the Rochester Law Center.
“That’s not good for the city to take houses from people who have equity in their houses,” said Baydoun, who also has clients in Garden City.
In Redford Township, Michael Dennis, the director of the community development department, said developers have helped displaced homeowners find new homes.
Brandy Gutierrez is waiting to see if JSR follows through evicting her from her Lincoln Park home. She said her estranged husband never told her he wasn’t paying the taxes until the unpaid bill accumulated to nearly $12,000. She was able to borrow enough to pay about $8,000 in December and got on a payment plan. A Tarpon Springs custom home builder offers portfolio plans that can be altered to suit your personal lifestyle.
County officials say she didn’t make those payments and Lincoln Park bought the home in July. Gutierrez said county staffers told her she had until October to pay and went to the city that month with a $4,000 cashier’s check hoping to save it.
She hasn’t told her two kids, 10 and 12, that they might soon lose the home.
“I am afraid tomorrow they could throw me out,” Gutierrez said. “I can’t sleep. I can’t eat.”
Showing posts with label Wayne County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wayne County. Show all posts
11 November 2015
16 October 2015
SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN HOME SALES INCREASE, LED BY JUMPS IN OAKLAND, LIVINGSTON COUNTIES
Original Story: crainsdetroit.com
Metro Detroit home and condominium sales jumped 11.2 percent year-over-year last month, a sharp increase from the 7.4 percent they increased by in August.
According to a report released today by Farmington Hills-based Realcomp Ltd. II, there were 5,282 sales last month in the four-county metro region, up from 4,729 in September 2014. There were 5,248 home and condo sales in August in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties, up from 4,888 in August 2014.
Median sale prices also improved year-over-year in the region, rising 5 percent from $149,000 in September 2014 to $156,500 last month, according to Realcomp. That’s just shy of the 5.2 percent year-over-year increase in August, when median sale prices rose 5.2 percent from $153,000 in August 2014 to $161,000 two months ago. Macomb elder care services allow seniors to age in place and remain in their homes.
Livingston County led the way last month in home sale increases, jumping 14.6 percent from 295 in September 2014 to 338 last month. However, the county was the only one in the metro region in which median sale prices fell. The median Livingston home and condo sale price was $204,000 last month, down from $210,000 in September 2014, according to Realcomp.
There was a similar tale in Oakland County, where total sales increased 13.9 percent from 1,763 in September 2014 to 2,008 last month. But median sale prices were stuck in neutral, with homes and condos selling for $195,000 in both September 2014 and last month. A Rochester real estate lawyer is following this story closely.
But Macomb and Wayne counties were positive in both major categories.
Macomb County’s sales rose from 1,028 in September 2014 to 1,147 last month, an 11.6 percent increase, according to Realcomp. In addition, median sale prices rose 7.3 percent, from $130,500 in September 2014 to $140,000 last month.
And in Wayne County, sales rose 8.9 percent to 1,789 last month from 1,643 in September 2014. Median sale prices in Wayne posted the highest gains, rising 13.4 percent from $97,000 in September 2014 to $110,000 last month, according to Realcomp. A Michigan real estate lawyer represents clients in real estate transactions.
In the four-county region, the number of homes on the market rose by 0.9 percent, from 18,559 in September 2014 to 18,730 last month.
Homes spent an average of 37 days on the market in the four-county region last month, according to Realcomp.
Metro Detroit home and condominium sales jumped 11.2 percent year-over-year last month, a sharp increase from the 7.4 percent they increased by in August.
According to a report released today by Farmington Hills-based Realcomp Ltd. II, there were 5,282 sales last month in the four-county metro region, up from 4,729 in September 2014. There were 5,248 home and condo sales in August in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties, up from 4,888 in August 2014.
Median sale prices also improved year-over-year in the region, rising 5 percent from $149,000 in September 2014 to $156,500 last month, according to Realcomp. That’s just shy of the 5.2 percent year-over-year increase in August, when median sale prices rose 5.2 percent from $153,000 in August 2014 to $161,000 two months ago. Macomb elder care services allow seniors to age in place and remain in their homes.
Livingston County led the way last month in home sale increases, jumping 14.6 percent from 295 in September 2014 to 338 last month. However, the county was the only one in the metro region in which median sale prices fell. The median Livingston home and condo sale price was $204,000 last month, down from $210,000 in September 2014, according to Realcomp.
There was a similar tale in Oakland County, where total sales increased 13.9 percent from 1,763 in September 2014 to 2,008 last month. But median sale prices were stuck in neutral, with homes and condos selling for $195,000 in both September 2014 and last month. A Rochester real estate lawyer is following this story closely.
But Macomb and Wayne counties were positive in both major categories.
Macomb County’s sales rose from 1,028 in September 2014 to 1,147 last month, an 11.6 percent increase, according to Realcomp. In addition, median sale prices rose 7.3 percent, from $130,500 in September 2014 to $140,000 last month.
And in Wayne County, sales rose 8.9 percent to 1,789 last month from 1,643 in September 2014. Median sale prices in Wayne posted the highest gains, rising 13.4 percent from $97,000 in September 2014 to $110,000 last month, according to Realcomp. A Michigan real estate lawyer represents clients in real estate transactions.
In the four-county region, the number of homes on the market rose by 0.9 percent, from 18,559 in September 2014 to 18,730 last month.
Homes spent an average of 37 days on the market in the four-county region last month, according to Realcomp.
04 February 2015
HOMEOWNERS FACING FORECLOSURE FLOCK TO COBO CENTER
Original Story: detroitnews.com
Detroit — More than 950 people facing tax foreclosure descended on Cobo Center on Thursday to meet with Wayne County officials in hopes of saving their homes.
Among them was 64-year-old Pamela Hyde. She's owned her tan aluminum sided bungalow on the east side for 35 years, raised her son there and paid her mortgage. But she said a series of illnesses and her small pension has made it difficult to chip away at her $4,400 in tax debt. A Detroit real estate lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
"I can't afford to lose my home," said Hyde, who waited with hundreds of others for her number to be called to speak with county officials. "There is not a lot of wiggle room. The utilities are sky high. ... I am in need of help. It's my home."
Wayne County officials are pursuing foreclosure on a record number of properties this year. Some have worked out payment plans, but 56,000 properties in Detroit still face foreclosure, said Chief Deputy David Szymanski. Another 4,000 homeowners elsewhere in Wayne County also are set to be foreclosed because of at least three years' of nonpayment of taxes.
The Cobo sessions continue weekdays through next week. They're another chance to meet with county officials to enter payment plans or learn about other relief programs. Nonprofits are also in attendance to provide legal counseling and other help negotiating out of foreclosure.
Recent legislation signed by Gov. Rick Snyder allow the treasurer to lower interest on debt from 18 percent to 6 percent for many homeowners. In many instances, homeowners can have taxes capped at a quarter of the market value of the home. A Tulsa real estate lawyer is following this story closely.
"These new programs are breathtaking in the ways they are able to help out," Szymanski said. "We've never had these types of options."
On Thursday, a whole section of chairs in Cobo was reserved for renters living in homes owned by delinquent landlords. Many were hoping to find a way to purchase the homes themselves.
Sharon Searcy hasn't heard from her landlords for months and hasn't paid rent for more than a year. She's hoping she can find a way to purchase the home and stay there with her two teenage boys.
"I want to stay in the home," Searcy said. "If I could just come up with the payments I could buy it and live there."
Her options are limited and she and other renters typically have to try and bid on the houses they live in at auction this fall. The home has $4,700 in tax debt that Searcy said she doesn't have.
One reason for the increase in at-risk property owners is because of a policy shift by county Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz, who decided this year to foreclose on all properties that are at least three years' late in taxes. A Detroit real estate lawyer has experience representing clients in foreclosure, workouts, and bankruptcy cases.
By law, those properties are supposed to be foreclosed. But since 2005, Wojtowicz has not taken action on properties with smaller tax bills — $1,500 to $1,700 per year — because he said he lacked the staff to handle that many. Doing so, though, allowed some properties' bills to accumulate to several thousand dollars because the treasurer looked only at the amount of annual tax bills.
"Until you tell people we could take their property, the vast majority hope it will go away," Szymanski said.
At least 18,000 Detroit properties had delinquent taxes dating to 2010 or earlier, according to county data as of this fall.
Detroit — More than 950 people facing tax foreclosure descended on Cobo Center on Thursday to meet with Wayne County officials in hopes of saving their homes.
Among them was 64-year-old Pamela Hyde. She's owned her tan aluminum sided bungalow on the east side for 35 years, raised her son there and paid her mortgage. But she said a series of illnesses and her small pension has made it difficult to chip away at her $4,400 in tax debt. A Detroit real estate lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
"I can't afford to lose my home," said Hyde, who waited with hundreds of others for her number to be called to speak with county officials. "There is not a lot of wiggle room. The utilities are sky high. ... I am in need of help. It's my home."
Wayne County officials are pursuing foreclosure on a record number of properties this year. Some have worked out payment plans, but 56,000 properties in Detroit still face foreclosure, said Chief Deputy David Szymanski. Another 4,000 homeowners elsewhere in Wayne County also are set to be foreclosed because of at least three years' of nonpayment of taxes.
The Cobo sessions continue weekdays through next week. They're another chance to meet with county officials to enter payment plans or learn about other relief programs. Nonprofits are also in attendance to provide legal counseling and other help negotiating out of foreclosure.
Recent legislation signed by Gov. Rick Snyder allow the treasurer to lower interest on debt from 18 percent to 6 percent for many homeowners. In many instances, homeowners can have taxes capped at a quarter of the market value of the home. A Tulsa real estate lawyer is following this story closely.
"These new programs are breathtaking in the ways they are able to help out," Szymanski said. "We've never had these types of options."
On Thursday, a whole section of chairs in Cobo was reserved for renters living in homes owned by delinquent landlords. Many were hoping to find a way to purchase the homes themselves.
Sharon Searcy hasn't heard from her landlords for months and hasn't paid rent for more than a year. She's hoping she can find a way to purchase the home and stay there with her two teenage boys.
"I want to stay in the home," Searcy said. "If I could just come up with the payments I could buy it and live there."
Her options are limited and she and other renters typically have to try and bid on the houses they live in at auction this fall. The home has $4,700 in tax debt that Searcy said she doesn't have.
One reason for the increase in at-risk property owners is because of a policy shift by county Treasurer Raymond Wojtowicz, who decided this year to foreclose on all properties that are at least three years' late in taxes. A Detroit real estate lawyer has experience representing clients in foreclosure, workouts, and bankruptcy cases.
By law, those properties are supposed to be foreclosed. But since 2005, Wojtowicz has not taken action on properties with smaller tax bills — $1,500 to $1,700 per year — because he said he lacked the staff to handle that many. Doing so, though, allowed some properties' bills to accumulate to several thousand dollars because the treasurer looked only at the amount of annual tax bills.
"Until you tell people we could take their property, the vast majority hope it will go away," Szymanski said.
At least 18,000 Detroit properties had delinquent taxes dating to 2010 or earlier, according to county data as of this fall.
In a move to stem the tide of foreclosures, Mayor Mike Duggan announced Wednesday that residential property assessments citywide will decline 5-20 percent, the second consecutive year he's cut taxes. Critics argue the city's unrealistic assessments contributed to the foreclosure crisis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
