Mayor Duggan: City employees and retirees to get 50% off Land Bank Auction Homes after winning bid

By Karen Hudson Samuels/Tell Us Detroit

DETROIT (Tell Us Det) - The market for home ownership in Detroit is heating up with a plan to offer city employees, their immediate family members and retirees a 50% discount on homes purchased though the Detroit Land Bank’s housing auction program.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced the 50% home discount program, which goes to the City Council for their approval, at Monday morning news flanked by representatives from city retirees and Detroit fire fighters.

The Mayor said he was optimistic that Council would endorse the program, which was sponsored by District 4 Council Member Andre Spivey, also hand for the announcement. “Our employees have taken a big hit, via pay cuts, health care cuts and this is an opportunity to provide an incentive to them to come back and move into the city of Detroit,” said Spivey.

“Whether they are renters looking to buy, homeowners who want to restore and move into a bigger house, or employees living in the suburbs who might like to return to the city, we wanted to make it easier”, said Duggan.

The Mayor explained how the program would work, “If you’re the winner and the winning price is $20,000, you as a city employee would write a check for $10,000, you get half off the price which will allow you to build some equity in the house relatively quickly”.

Homeowners will be required to own their property for at least three years. If a sale is made in the first 12 months, 75% of the profit must be returned to the land bank; 50% must be returned if the home is sold within 13-24months and a 25% return is required if sold within 25-36 months.

By extending eligibility for the discount program to immediate family members, the city hopes it will encourage families to stay in close proximity to each other, which would help create stronger, close knit neighborhoods.

Leaders of the city’s unions, including police and firefighters, pressed the Mayor to drop a provision that required new city employees are on the job for six months before participating in the Detroit Land Bank auction program.

Duggan said he was told that entire academy classes had been waiting to make life decisions, case in point the Detroit firefighters with 60 cadets who graduated from the academy in November and another 90 who currently enrolled – they are now eligible for the 50% housing discount.

To qualify for the program individuals must register prior to entering the bidding process. Once confirmed, bids are entered at the Detroit Land Bank Authority website. www.buildingdetroit.org. Bids start each day at 9:00AM and close at 5:00PM. Duggan said information sessions on the 50% discount program will be Tuesday, January 27th at 5:00PM and also this Friday at 11AM.