Time to Claim Profits from Wayne County Auctions Runs Out Soon

Residents who lost their homes to tax foreclosure because of inflated property assessments may be eligible to receive money, anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, from Wayne County. In the December issue of The Morningsider, we reported that between 2013 and 2020, Detroit properties were widely over assessed, leading to inflated tax bills that residents couldn’t afford. Then Wayne County auctioned them off for much more than the tax bills and pocketed the difference; in other words, they made a profit every time they sold a foreclosed property.

Thanks to the years-long efforts of organizations like the Coalition for Property Tax Justice, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that government entities can’t profit from the sale of tax-foreclosed private properties. This summer they also said the ruling applies retroactively to homes that were lost prior to December 22, 2020. But the money doesn’t get paid automatically. Residents have to apply by March 31 to see if they are eligible.

Now the challenge is to find all the residents who are owed money from those sales before the end of the month – a difficult task since many of those who lost their homes haven’t yet found stable living situations.

District 4 Councilmember Latisha Johnson is working with the Wayne County Treasurer’s office to locate these residents before the March 31 deadline. Members of the Morningside board are volunteering for this outreach effort, and we invite all residents to volunteer as well.

Here is a list of addresses in Morningside that we know once had homeowners likely eligible for these funds. For more information on how to access the funds, checkout this Outlier Media story.

5109 Audubon
4378 Audubon
3985 Balfour
4341 Balfour
4386 Balfour
4204 Balfour
4006 Beaconsfield
5245 Bedford
3500 Bedford
3462 Berkshire
4390 Berkshire
3499 Berkshire
4700 Berkshire
3458 Courville
5580 Courville
4339 Devonshire
4197 Devonshire
11137 E. Outer Dr.
11886 E. Outer Dr.
3644 Haverhill
5283 Haverhill
4135 Haverhill
4152 Nottingham
3981 Somerset
4102 Somerset
4884 Three Mile
5082 Three Mile
4820 Three Mile
4226 Wayburn