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Earlier quoted context omitted.
This kind of stuff really is sad, there has to be some solution to not kicking people that have lived in these houses for 30+ years because they can't afford the taxes. There is, the article points it out: Owners can buy their homes back with debts cleared at auction for $500 as a solution of last resort. The problem doesn't seem to be the lack of a solution, but knowledge that it exists and what they have to do to b…
So, the solution is: Don't pay your taxes. Wait for your house to go to auction. Hope no one buys it. Pay $500 to effectively erase your three year tax debt. Repeat. That apparently currently works. It's a clear market signal to the government that it has no alternative but to put up with you not paying your taxes. But, I expect if it became widespread, the tax man would see it as a loophole to be closed.
Why couldn't the owner just pay the city $3500? Or even the $7,00 she paid to the other guy?
Why is the city willing to take $3500 from a random person but not the owner?
For Detroit in general, these pejoratively described "gentrifiers" could be the best thing to happen in a long time. What kind of failing community would not welcome an influx of affluent skilled workers--- A boom of these kind of folks could even ignite the local services industry and provide jobs for the remaining lower skill workers.
I feel for these people on a personal level, I really do. But I don't see how ignoring economic realities is going to help them or their community long term.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of the first times I've seen that property tax really does read like serfdom.
Property tax is really onerous for those who own their houses but fall on hard times. Its implementation can be terribly unfair, because it essentially says that you don't really own all of your property. You own most of it, but if you don't kick that little bit up every year, then you're out on your duff and what you get back is subject to the whims of the auction bidders. That's a troubling implication for me. I'm…
The perfect solution for this is to eliminate both property tax and the mortgage interest tax deduction and let them cancel each other. For most people it makes no difference, but we stop kicking little old ladies out of the homes they own just because they can no longer afford the property taxes.
Ok wait. So the guy paid $3500 to clear $14,000 in back taxes, right? Then the person who owed the taxes paid him $7000. Why couldn't the owner just pay the city $3500? Or even the $7,00 she paid to the other guy? Why is the city willing to take $3500 from a random person but not the owner?
If the current residents can't afford the property taxes, they need to relocate. On a personal level is very unfair, if its unfair at a societal level, we can debate. But the reality still stands- If you can't pay your property taxes, you need to move. It is a financial imperative. For Detroit in general, these pejoratively described "gentrifiers" could be the best thing to happen in a long time. What kind of failing…
Negotiate a rent. You can have a grace period, a rent that starts small and increases later.
But then again it's people that have limited financial means
Ok wait. So the guy paid $3500 to clear $14,000 in back taxes, right? Then the person who owed the taxes paid him $7000. Why couldn't the owner just pay the city $3500? Or even the $7,00 she paid to the other guy? Why is the city willing to take $3500 from a random person but not the owner?
It seems the problem is a lack of communication. It seems they don't know how much trouble they are in until they receive the foreclosure notice. The homeowner is welcome to bid on their house at auction, but if they are outbid then they are out of luck.
From the city's point of view it is better to try to get as much money back on the debt by auctioning the house instead of trying to settle at some arranged value with the debtor, which may be less than what they could get from two people trying to outbid one another. For example at the end of the article the debtor could only budget $1,400 for repurchasing his home, but he was outbid at $3,000.
If the current residents can't afford the property taxes, they need to relocate. On a personal level is very unfair, if its unfair at a societal level, we can debate. But the reality still stands- If you can't pay your property taxes, you need to move. It is a financial imperative. For Detroit in general, these pejoratively described "gentrifiers" could be the best thing to happen in a long time. What kind of failing…
This has already been debated many times. The right answer is: property taxes on improvements are a malign disincentive, but property taxes on location/land value are a beneficial incentive for greater development. Detroit's location value is basically zero.