Wayne County extends payment plan deadline for properties at risk of foreclosure

Nushrat Rahman, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·2 min read

The Wayne County Treasurer's Office has extended the deadline for taxpayers to get on payment plans and avoid losing their property to foreclosure to March 31. Previously, the deadline was Monday.

“It is particularly important that individuals who owe back property taxes for the year 2019 or prior either pay the tax bill in full or work with our office to make payment arrangements,” Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree said in a news release this week.

Tax foreclosure is the process by which a homeowner loses their property because they didn't pay their property taxes and counties have the authority to foreclose under the state's General Property Tax Act.

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This year marks a change from the past couple years in Wayne County. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a moratorium on foreclosures. And last year, Sabree filed a request in Wayne County Circuit Court to not foreclose on any occupied homes and occupied commercial properties because of continuing pandemic-related economic hardships. That redemption period runs through March 31. Foreclosures on unoccupied properties and vacant land continued.

As of late February, roughly 11,500 occupied residential properties — including owner occupied and non-owner-occupied properties such as rentals — were subject to foreclosure, according to the Treasurer's Office. The majority were in Detroit.

Ways to get help

For more information about payment plans, go to bit.ly/WayneCountyPaymentPlans or email taxinfo@waynecounty.com.

The Treasurer's office is open for appointments Monday to Friday and includes Saturdays in March. Go to https://bit.ly/WayneCountyTreasurerHours to set up an appointment.

The state recently launched a program called the Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund that can help income eligible owner-occupied homeowners avoid foreclosure. To apply go to Michigan.gov/MIHAF. Call 844-756-4423 for additional help.

The Treasurer's office has an updated list of properties at risk of foreclosure. Download it at https://www.waynecounty.com/elected/treasurer/. Taxpayers can also search for delinquent property tax information at https://pta.waynecounty.com/.

Nushrat Rahman covers issues related to economic mobility for the Detroit Free Press and Bridge Detroit as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA.

Contact Nushrat: nrahman@freepress.com; 313-348-7558. Follow her on Twitter: @NushratR. Sign up for Bridge Detroit's newsletter. Become a Free Press subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wayne County extends deadline for payment plans to avoid foreclosure