Title
Resolution to Approve Contracts with Legal Services of South Central Michigan and Washtenaw County Treasurer for Mortgage Foreclosure Intervention and Prevention Services and Appropriate $20,000.00 to the Office of Community Development General Fund Budget ($50,000.00 AAHTF and $20,000.00 General Fund) (8 Votes Required)
Memorandum
The Office of Community Development (OCD) is requesting that City Council approve $40,000.00 in Ann Arbor Housing Trust Funds to Legal Services of South Central Michigan and $10,000.00 in Affordable Housing Trust Funds and $20,000 in General Funds to the Washtenaw County Treasurer for Mortgage Foreclosure Intervention and Prevention Services. The Office of Community Development is also requesting that the City Council appropriate $20,000.00 from the General Fund reserve to the Office of Community Development General Fund budget. The OCD is collaborating with the Tax and Mortgage Foreclosure Taskforce which includes the Washtenaw County Treasurer’s Office, Legal Services of South Central Michigan, MSU Extension, the Housing Bureau for Seniors and numerous other local non-profits, private lenders and realtors to address the current mortgage foreclosure crisis.
Washtenaw County had 1,433 mortgage foreclosure first insertions, the first legal notification from the lien holder that a mortgage is being foreclosed on and typically occurs after 90 - 180 days of non-payment, in the legal news and 703 sheriff’s sales in 2006, and 2,194 first insertions and 1,151 sheriff’s sales in 2007. Michigan has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation. Fannie Mae has written off a greater volume of loans in Michigan than any other state. As homes are vacated and people move out of state, the housing values drop. The tax impact on local municipalities is dramatic. Since 1996, Washtenaw County’s annual taxable value growth has been 5% to over 8%. The 2008 taxable value growth is expected to be 0% or negative. The City’s 2008 taxable ...
Click here for full text