Ask and Answer

What happens to the houses that bidders didn't pay on from last years auction?Do they go back on the list for this years auction?

Hi everyone. I've been in my house for about 3 months now. I recently decided to check the treasurer website to see if the foreclosure status came off. It did, However now its showing I owe almost $3000 for taxes in 2012 but the status is unconfirmed. Do I wait on a letter from the treasurer? If the home wasn't purchased until late 2012 why am I responsible for the whole year? I plan on calling but thought I would get others feedback before doing so. Thanks in advance.

I know we often see the attention-grabbing numbers for how many properties are foreclosed and delinquent and how large of a shortfall the city receives in property taxes, but how do these numbers compare to other cities? I've often read that Detroit property taxes are comparatively high, so it would also seem useful to know how the tax collections compare on a per-capita or per-property basis.

Saw this article today http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130121/OPINION03/301210336/Detroit-Land-Bank-readies-major-growth-spurt?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p This seems at first glance like an improvement on the Michigan Land Bank vagaries...is this a good thing or smoke and mirrors?

What is the current situation regarding City, County and School property taxes if the property is owned by a Non-Profit entity? Does it matter what type of Non-Profit? Religious entities? What about special assessments and/or associations?

Can they be bought? Is there a central listing of all government owned property in the city? Thank you.

I was able to retain my property by allowing the UHC to bid for me at the recent October auction however I am having a hard time getting the deed for the property. Wayne County treasurer gave them all the deeds to the properties and they were recorded Nov. 15, it is now almost Jan 15, 2013 and I have not received my deed.. Can someone anyone help me get the deed to my home???

Have people already received their deeds? This is not the first, but one of many I've seen over the past few weeks and thought it deserved some attention. Here's a link. http://www.bid4assets.com/auction/index.cfm?auctionid=606016

Hi everyone, we just purchased our first rental home this past Oct thru Wayne county tax lien and need to get insurance on the home to rent out, any suggestions on a good reliable company

I'd like to know when round 3 is and any opportunities in early 2013. How can we inquire about specific properties? More specifically in Canton (Arcadia & Knollwood) Atiya.

Someone bought my house at the auction. He has agreed to sell it to me. We are worried that Wayne county will see that I was the homeowner who was tax foreclosed and will not let me buy it in my name? I don't think it should be a problem. Now I see I think I could have even bid on my own house in my own name and it would have not been a problem. Is it a problem? 2nd question: The buyer is responsible for 2012 taxes? If the auction was in October than does that mean prorated 2012 taxes for Oct-Dec? or the entire year of 2012?

I just wanted to write a quick note to potentially help others avoid the devastating situation we found ourselves in last night. I went by yesterday to check the two family home we won in October, and found it demoed. The house was in excellent condition and we planned on working on it all winter, then moving in mid-Spring. We still do not have any of our deeds, and were of the belief that we should not board the house up until deed was in hand. We now really regret not doing that sooner, as the house is now a pile of rubble (one which I'm hearing we now may be billed for...) There were no physical signs of a pending demo. No signs of contractors. The house had a new roof, sound basement, more than half the windows were still intact. I've been going by twice per week since the auction close to keep an eye on the house, and make checklists for items we needed to purchase to begin rehab, measure, etc. As buyers there seems to be a lot of responsibility dumped on us the minute we pay for the property, while we get no rights to the property until the deed arrives. Or at least this is my understanding after reading some of the legalese we failed to comprehend earlier. We did not do our "due diligence," so I guess we deserve this. The property was in great condition, so it never occurred to us that it would be on any demo list. I also don't write to countries I've never been to in order to check for outstanding warrants. It just makes no sense to. But this is Detroit. You'd think I would have learned my lesson by now... Anyway, hindsight is 20-20. Hoping this post will help others. Please, even if your house is ready to go, check to be sure it's not on the demo list. How? I'm not quite sure. I hear it requires a trip downtown. This is some info from the defer demolition application that might help people understand how loose the requirements are for being deemed a dangerous house: "Your building was determined to be dangerous. To set aside the Order To Demolish you must remedy this dangerous situation, which may include correcting one or more of the following conditions prior to an inspection by BSE&ED: • Open at door or window to invite trespass or exposure to elements; • Attractive nuisance to children, vagrants, criminals or immoral persons; • Dilapidated, deteriorated or damaged to the point of collapse or creating unsanitary or unfit conditions or structurally unsound or unstable. Effective November, 1998, a building (commercial or residential) could be deemed Dangerous if it is: • Vacant for 180 days (6 months) or longer, • Not listed with a real estate broker for sale, lease or rent, and • Not maintained on the exterior in accordance with the City's codes. After a deferral has been granted, if conditions change so that a dangerous condition is present(including vacancy in excess of 180 days),the building may be demolished without further action by City Council." We believed we were not to touch the house til we had a deed, and therefore no legal way to remedy the "dangerous conditions" of missing/broken windows/doors. Also, it seems you cannot apply for a deferment of demo until you have proper proof of ownership...as in the deed. I'm sure there will now be a bunch of people informing us of what idiots we are, just like on facebook. I'm prepared for more blame, just hoping we can help out other people so they don't go through this horrific disappointment and drama. It looks like it's a pretty expensive and stressful process to get off that demo list anyway, if at all possible with no deed. Now to decide what to do next. I guess we are now responsible for cleaning up the rubble, which will take us about 4 weeks of full time work and way more money than we possess. We also purchased the piece of vacant land next to the house and planned to put in another community garden there. That won't be happening now. Now time for me to go back to the box of shame, Kristine

Hello Everyone...anyone needing to file their PTA's and don't have time or are located out of state, give us call 248-242-1878 or 248-275-4234. Thanks!

Are we responsible for the 4% fee and 1% per month interest that started accruing in August (i.e. 2 months before the auction)? Do we ever get a separate bill for the summer taxes? I just got my bill for the winter tax, and the 'total due' was just for winter, though it noted the (scary) total summer tax was still unpaid. More importantly, has anyone had any luck with getting the 2012 summer tax bill reduced by getting rid of some of the charges local municipalities like to hand off to the tax rolls? In my case, I have several thousand dollars of crap rolled into 2012 summer taxes. Would I have more luck trying to argue with the municipality, or should I wait for March for them to report it to the county? If I understand correctly, cities essentially get cash from the county for the unpaid taxes until they become seriously delinquent. So I guess they dont really have much incentive to reduce the summer taxes since they will get money from the county for it in March. Is it wishful thinking to hope that I might be able to get the summer tax bill reduced? there is nearly 5k of extra stuff rolled into that tax bill, most of it ordinance violations. Am I just screwed? Should I just start thinking of the summer 2012 tax bill as a high-interest loan from the county with a 2-3 year term before I lose the house? Any advice/experience welcome.

Alternatively MENAYEK can contact me at silvercapitalgroup@yahoo.com I am interested in some of the property that was purchased by MENAYEK.

You may want to check your auction-purchased houses to see if they have downspouts connected directly to the sewer system. From what I read the City was authorized to begin inspecting and fining homeowners as of July 2012 for failure to comply. In theory this is another tool to report absentee landlords for compliance failure, too. From Detroit Water & Sewage: "Detroit residents are required by state law to disconnect downspouts leading to the sanitary sewer system. This is a requirement of all Michigan cities. Water from downspouts connected to the sewer system can overload the sewer system and can pollute our rivers and cause basement flooding." Here's a brochure on how to disconnect: ftp://ftp.semcog.org/outgoing/InternalSupport/Downspout%20disconnect%20brochure_print/Downspout%20disconnect%20brochure.pdf Greening of Detroit also runs some programming on how to do this.

Is there a way I can find out the current value of a home that has been sitting vacant since 2009? It is a foreclosure. So banks work with someone who wants to purchase said home? or is there a way to buy it before it gets put onto the auction listings? You have no idea how bad i want this place! I have been watching it for 2years now.

I'm sure there are families that saved with the dream of picking up a home at the auction, but it seemed to be an investors game. Is there a way the county could do this a bit differently next year? Perhaps have a 24 or 48 hour period where ppl looking to live in the home can bid before investors get in the game? It's very disheartening to see a community deteriorate and many of these investors do not have the same stake as a potential home owner would. I'm willing to bet many of these homes sold if not already an eye sore, will continue to be one until the property is managed. Or they tend to have a slew of ppl moving in and out! Many families were hurt trying to bid for a home and were out bided! It's been proven over and over that home owners not renters actually make a community better!

Why can't those unsold homes that the county is planning to turn over to the land bank be negotiated at a low price for homeless families? Over the past year I've seen families who squatted in bank own homes evicted. They were following the direction of Maureen Taylor looking for an abatement program that would give them a vacant home if they do repairs and move in. Over and over we've heard the city say the program is no longer in effect, but if instead of turning these homes over to the "Land Authority" they work a small price deal whereas these families can legally move in and not worry about the bailiff showing up that would work for all involved.

If you are having difficulty navigating the process of property transfers, deed registrations, eviction filings or other processes related to properties, please call us today 888-963-9993. We are here to assist!

A Big Thanks! to Jerry, Mary, and Alex for hosting the event at Cafe con Leche at Lafayette Park last night, along with the great participants. It was informative, interesting, and provided some excellent new resources. The event also helped continue to focus our attention on solutions to the largest land use problem in the United States. I am absolutely convinced that the progress and incredible effort of the LoveLand team over the past three years is a transformative event in the arc of Detroit's future. It has enabled anyone with ambition to visualize the scope of the problem, tackle land use projects, identify important social justice issues, or simply find a place for themselves in the Detroit community. It also captures the absurdity of auctioning off 5% of the city every year and will be fundamental in changing the land use conversation. Thanks guys, for your vision, commitment, and thoughtful action that is helping to accelerate the development of 21st century Detroit.

For those of you about to embark on some renovation projects in your new properties, don't forget to check out Habitat for Humanity for materials. They have a store for overstock and leftover supplies in two locations in Detroit. Go to their website and click the Metro ReStores link on the top for addresses and more info. http://www.habitatdetroit.org/

Hello fellow WDWOTers! I was wondering if anyone has purchased a property through the Michigan Land Bank. If they did, was it a difficult process? Thanks!