Hundreds of Detroiters and other Wayne County homeowners get a one-year break from foreclosure if they owe 2017-19 property taxes on owner-occupied houses.
Eric Sabree (Photo: Wayne County Treasurer's Office)
A judge accepted a request to keep those debtors out of tax foreclosure through next March, Bridge Detroit reports:
County Treasurer Eric Sabree said Tuesday he petitioned the 3rd Circuit Court to not foreclose on owner-occupied homes owing back taxes from 2017 to 2019 because many taxpayers didn’t fill out applications for a statewide relief program and need more time and help.
The extension runs through March 31, 2023. That includes 1,800 owner-occupied properties that are mostly in Detroit, Sabree estimates. ...
"We're afraid that a lot of people have applied and we don't know about [them],” Sabree said Tuesday.
The order, granted by Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy M. Kenny, does not apply to property owners with tax debt in 2016 or prior and does not include ... rentals.
This Thursday had been the deadline to pay back taxes or accept a payment plan to avert foreclosure.
In 2020, there were no foreclosures because of the pandemic’s economic blow.
And last year, Sabree filed a request in Wayne County Circuit Court to defer foreclosures [for a year] on occupied properties because of continuing pandemic-related hardships even though foreclosures on unoccupied properties and vacant land continued.
Bridge Detroit adds guidance about the Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund, a new state program to help income-eligible Wayne County residents who live in their homes avoid foreclosure for another year, regardless of when tax debts are from.
To apply go to Michigan.gov/MIHAF. Call (844) 756-4423 for additional help.
Forward a copy of the verification via email with name, property address and parcel identification number and MIHAF confirmation number to MIHAF.WCTO@waynecounty.com.
► Learn here about Wayne County payment plans to avoid foreclosure.
