Hey BridgeDetroit readers!
Are you a Detroiter living in an intergenerational home without a formal will or estate plan? If not, a new pilot program beginning in the next few months could help.
Last week, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis and LISC Detroit announced an initiative to fix and prevent issues around heirs’ properties in the city.
What are heirs’ properties? Often referred to as tangled titles, the properties arise when a person dies and leaves behind a property without formal legal documents, like a will, to prove who owns it. It’s a situation that can leave Detroiters struggling to pay their property taxes or get home repair help without many options.
How many are there? In Detroit, there are at least 5,500 such properties in Detroit — worth more than $268 million — with unclear ownership, according to a Detroit Future City report.
How will the program work? The program, administered by LISC Detroit, joins existing efforts by the City of Detroit and Gilbert Family Foundation to help residents keep their homes from generation to generation. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis provided a $500,000 grant for the effort.
“We know this is a complicated issue, but it is an issue that we believe can be solvable with the right systems in place,” said Jacqueline Burau, director of impact and operations at LISC Detroit.
LISC Detroit will partner with community organizations in areas with lots of heirs’ properties to understand needs. Some neighborhoods with the highest concentration of these properties include Bagley, Airport Sub, Hawthorne Park, Cadillac Heights, Schaefer 7/8 Lodge and Schulze, according to the DFC report.
The program aims to help 25 households clear titles and hundreds with estate planning to prevent heirs’ property issues. There are no income restrictions. The legal services will be free. The program will work in conjunction with existing services provided by the City of Detroit and the Gilbert Family Foundation.
Why is the program important? Residents of heirs’ properties may have trouble getting into assistance programs that can help pay for home repairs or property tax relief. Without the aid, homes could fall into property tax foreclosure. When a title doesn’t transfer within a family, it can also be a barrier for families to build generational wealth through homes.
When will the program begin? Program leaders say they are working to identify and train community partners in the next few months and will also seek out a legal service provider.
In the meantime, where can you get help now? The City of Detroit has a free estate planning and will preparation program. For more information, go to bit.ly/detroitestateplanningprogram. Detroit Future City also has a guide on all things heirs’ properties. Learn more.
On Your Radar
BOOKSTORE’S LAST CHAPTER: After a decade run, Pages Bookshop in Detroit’s historic North Rosedale Park is expected to close its doors at the end of the month. Everything in the store is 25% off. Learn more.
DISASTER FUNDS: Does your home flood when it rains? The city wants to do something about that and is coming up with an action plan to help residents. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) granted the city of Detroit $346.8 million in disaster recovery and prevention funds. Detroit could use its share to fix old alley drains and sewer lines that have led to basement backups, and build flood-resilient affordable housing, city officials announced this month. Learn more.
CALL OUT: Does your home regularly flood when it rains? Were you impacted by the floods of August 2023? If so, please email me at nrahman@freepress.com
