Reparations are possible!

Press Conference & Celebration. Family Celebrates New Home after Illegal Foreclosure
Anti-foreclosure activists made a family whole, demand City follow their example with reparations for others victimized by illegal foreclosures

June 14, 2018  |  2 PM

Thousands of families in Detroit have had their property assessed at values higher than legally allowed by the Michigan Constitution, and to add insult to injury were never informed that they could apply for the Poverty Tax Exemption. Because of this, from 2011 to 2015 the Wayne County treasurer foreclosed upon about one in four Detroit properties for nonpayment of property taxes. Over 100,000 working families have lost their homes, and many Detroit neighborhoods have been devastated.

While the Coalition to End Unconstitutional Tax Foreclosures is working tirelessly to ensure that no more occupied homes are tax foreclosed in 2018, to help mend past injuries we are launching our “Dignity Restoration Housing Program.” The program is designed to provide reparations that are owed to families who lost their homes because of illegal assessments and barriers to tax exemption, with the overarching goal of not only restoring property, but dignity too.

PTE Outreach Program Assessment

Stop illegal tax assessments! Help Detroit families save their homes.

March 24, 2018  |  10 AM - 1 PM

Cathedral Church of St. Paul

4800 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201

The Coalition and various community groups will convene to debrief the success and effectiveness of the neighbor-to-neighbor outreach program for the property tax exemption (PTE). Originally implemented by United Community Housing Coalition and Quicken Loans, the Coalition will now bring all participants together to discuss the program and the improvements needed for successful future PTE outreach.

Homeowner Resource Fair & ROR Program Celebration

Stop illegal tax assessments! Help Detroit families save their homes.

Saturday, March 3  |  12 PM - 1:30 PM

Wayne State University Law, Damon J Keith Center for Civil Rights

471 W Palmer Ave, Detroit, MI 48202

The Homeowner Resource Fair provided resources and support to individuals who were formerly renters and are in the process of transitioning to homeownership through the Right of Refusal program. The Coalition and UCHC wanted to connect new homeowners to all of the resources and support they will need to maintain their homes and homeowner status. The fair was a chance to provide a celebration for individuals who made it through the ROR process and an opportunity to give feedback on their experiences. Residents are now able to start building equity in their homes and their homes and neighborhoods can remain occupied by local families.

COMMUNITY SPEAK OUT

Stop illegal tax assessments! Help Detroit families save their homes.

Saturday, October 28  |  12 PM - 1:30 PM

Partrich Auditorium, Wayne State University Law School

471 W Palmer Ave Detroit, MI 48202

Join Detroit families fighting to keep their homes in the face of illegal foreclosures. Call on Mayor Duggan to end unconstitutional tax assessments! Lunch provided.

Free parking in Lot 1 on W. Palmer directly across from law school

QLine: Get off at the E. Ferry stop

Peaceful Protest at Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree's House

We are calling on Mr. Sabree to stop homes from being auctioned on Tuesday, September 5th.

Thursday, August 31  |  11 AM

Eric Sabree's House

17401 Pontchartrain Blvd, Detroit 48203

Please join the Coalition to End Unconstitutional Tax Foreclosures as we demand a moratorium on tax foreclosures until the problem of unconstitutional tax assessments is fixed!

Between 2011-2015, 1 in 4 Detroit properties have been subject to property tax foreclosure. But, a recent study finds that between 2009 and 2015, the Detroit Assessment Division was assessing between 55% and 85% of homes at rates that violated the Michigan Constitution, which clearly states that a property cannot be assessed at more than 50 percent of its market value. These unconstitutional property tax assessments have led to illegally inflated property taxes and thus illegitimate property tax foreclosures.

The Treasurer has the power to pull homes impacted by the unconstitutional assessments out of the auction on Sept. 5th. Join us as we demand that Treasurer Eric Sabree Stop the Foreclosures!

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News from The Coalition to End Unconstitutional Tax Foreclosures

Friday, August 25, 2017

Contact: Madeline Sinkovich: illegalforeclosures.detroit@gmail.com, (313) 338-6244

Peaceful Protest Near Treasurer's Home to Save Other Family Homes

Call for foreclosure moratorium until illegal property tax assessments stop

A group of Detroit families working to save their homes will be joined by supporters outside the home of Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree in a peaceful call for the Treasurer to protect Detroit families from illegal tax foreclosure. The group will gather Thursday, August 31 at 11:00 a.m. at 17401 Pontchartrain in Detroit to call for a moratorium on kicking people out of their homes until the problem of illegal tax foreclosures can be solved. A recent study by Professors Atuahene and Hodge found that between 2009 and 2015, the City of Detroit assessed up to 85 percent of properties at values that violated the Michigan Constitution, which states that no property should be assessed at more than 50 percent of its market value. The study also found that higher-valued homes are being assessed significantly under 50% of their market value while, in a cruel irony, lower-valued homes are being assessed at over 50% of their market value.

As a result, poor and working class Detroit families could not afford the illegal property tax assessments and the resulting over-inflated property tax bills, and so Wayne County authorities foreclosed on their homes for non-payment of property taxes. Between 2011-2015, 1 in 4 Detroit properties have been taken from their owners in tax foreclosure proceedings. No American city has witnessed this exorbitantly high number of property tax foreclosures since the Great Depression.

Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree has the power to stop this by placing a moratorium on tax foreclosures until the problem of unconstitutional property tax assessments is remedied. But, he has so far refused to do the right thing. He is only offering payment plans to help Detroit residents pay taxes that were, in fact, illegally charged. That is no help at all.

Even worse, Mr. Sabree -- Detroit resident -- is one of the fortunate few Detroiters whose home value is relatively high and therefore systematically assessed at a lower value than the law allows. The Detroit assessor estimated that the market value of Mr. Sabree's home was only $180,000. But, an independent analysis suggests the value of Mr. Sabree's home and neighboring houses is upwards of $400,000.

Who:

1. Families working to save their homes from illegal tax foreclosure
2. The Coalition to End Unconstitutional Tax Foreclosures
3. Concerned community members

What: Call for a Moratorium on Tax Foreclosures – Stop Foreclosures Based on Illegal Tax Assessments

When: Thursday, August 31 at 11:00 a.m.

Where: Outside the home of Wayne Country Treasurer, Eric Sabree, 17401 Pontchartrain, Detroit

Press Conference | Mr. Mayor, Please Help Me Save my Home from Illegal Tax Foreclosure!

Tuesday, August 1  |  11 AM

Morningside v. Sabree is the last scheduled oral argument.

Michigan Court of Appeals

3020 W Grand Blvd., on the 14th floor
Please look for the case 'Morningside v. Sabree'

Do You Want to See Unjust Property Tax Foreclosure Ended? Come and support the class action lawsuit brought by the ACLU & NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

In Morning v. Sabree, several Detroit homeowners and four neighborhood associations appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals after the lower court dismissed their claim under the Federal Housing Act against Wayne County. The claim against Wayne County alleges that its Treasurer's practice of foreclosing properties - despite the well-known unconstitutional over-assessments underlying each tax debt - is illegal housing discrimination against African Americans. Because the lower court dismissed this claim against Wayne County, the appeal (which will be argued at the hearing) gives the legal team a chance to get that claim back in court and keep it alive.

Come to the hearing, and get educated about the lawsuit. Your presence will let the judges know that Detroit is woke and will no longer stand for unconstitutional property tax foreclosures.

Press Conference | Mr. Mayor, Please Help Me Save my Home from Illegal Tax Foreclosure!

Saturday, July 8  |  12 PM - 2 PM

St. Matthew's & St. Joseph's Episcopal Church

8850 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48214

The Michigan Constitution prohibits cities from assessing a property at more than 50% of its market value. A recent study found that, in each year between 2009-2015, the City of Detroit assessed anywhere from 55% to 85% of Detroit homes at rates that violated the Michigan Constitution.

This Press Conference and People's Forum will feature Detroit residents that have been subject to unconstitutional property tax assessments and then foreclosed upon because they were not able to pay the resulting illegally inflated property taxes.

The Coalition to End Unconstitutional Tax Foreclosures is Calling on Mayor Duggan to Take Action to End this Madness!

The Winner of the AMV Festival Award for the Best Hip Hop Video, Will See, will be performing his hit song “Take tha House Back” at the July 8th Press Conference and Community Meeting!