Changes to Detroit's Foreclosure Auctions Disempower Homeowners and Tenants

"Each September, Wayne County puts up for auction tens of thousands of properties whose owners are more than three years behind on their property taxes," according to a post by Kriston Capps.

The occasion is something of an anti-holiday in Wayne County, according to Capps, because of how many owners and tenants lose their homes in the process. "This year’s auction—which…runs through September 24—includes more than 8,000 homes occupied by an owner or a tenant, according to the county’s own records." The 8,000 residents losing their homes are casualties in the city's record-high 75,000 tax foreclosures this year. Capps notes that the majority of those foreclosures happen in Detroit.

But, Capps is careful to explain, those numbers don't tell the whole story. The foreclosures indicate a real threat to equity in the county and the city: "Recent changes to the law mean that it’s harder for occupant-owners to bid to save their homes—and easier for buyers to take or keep scores of properties for investment purposes." The bulk of the article is devoted to unpacking the change in the law that regulated tax foreclosures as well as the consequences of those changes.