March 31 Deadline Looms as Washtenaw Fights to Prevent Foreclosures

With the foreclosure redemption deadline fast approaching, Washtenaw County’s Treasurer’s Office is working to keep struggling homeowners in their homes.

Property foreclosures. Tax liens. Evictions.

Those words can send shivers down anyone’s spine. They remind us of portly bankers wearing three-piece suits and gold watch chains forcing poor families out of their homes.

Historically, Washtenaw County ranked as one of the lowest—if not the lowest—county in Michigan for property foreclosures—until the recession years between 2007 and 2012, when the number of foreclosures skyrocketed. But in recent years, the number of foreclosures has dropped dramatically.

Foreclosing on a property is a three-year process. In 2022, the Washtenaw Treasurer’s Office mailed 5,325 delinquent tax notices, but only fifteen of those properties made it to the 2025 foreclosure list; their owners have until March 31 to redeem their properties.

While the number of Washtenaw foreclosures has been no higher than fourteen since 2019, the state has reported a fifteen percent increase in lenders starting foreclosure proceedings. Last year, Wayne County topped the list of counties with foreclosures: 3,411. Oakland had 1,147, followed by Macomb, with 1,131. Meanwhile, Washtenaw had thirteen.

The small number of foreclosures is due in large part to an innovative Property Tax Assistance Program the late Treasurer Catherine McClary instituted during her 27 years in the office. She was the first treasurer in Michigan to hire a team dedicated to keeping property owners in their homes. Her successor, Latitia Lamelle Sharp, is continuing McClary’s efforts.

“Our driving force is to keep people in their homes, help them pay their taxes, and maintain their properties,” Sharp says.  “We’re by no means just bankers. We have a heart for our residents.” The new treasurer is also trying to anticipate the unexpected, as she keeps her eyes on the new presidential economic policies.

“Changes at the federal level can have a trickle-down effect on the services available at the local level,” she points out. “I’m actually fearful that the increase in millages will mean an increase in tax foreclosures.”

How the tax foreclosure system works

At the last tally, Washtenaw County had 143,663 taxable properties, 116,404 of them residential. Private property taxes account for 70.67 percent of all county revenues, while commercial properties account for one-fifth and industrial and agricultural properties are each responsible for slightly over two percent of the total evaluation.

In Michigan, property owners with delinquent taxes have a three-year grace period to pay those taxes (with interest) or face forfeiture and foreclosure. Thousands of tax delinquency notices are mailed each year; most—but not all—property owners respond quickly, either paying their back taxes or requesting assistance. When back taxes reach the second year of delinquency, the properties are forfeited to the county treasurer. If the taxes are unpaid as of March 31 in the third year of delinquency, they are foreclosed upon.

. Currently, fifteen parcels face the possibility of foreclosure, a number that has dropped significantly. Between 2006 and 2013, foreclosures rose from 44 (2006) to 375 (2007), 637 (2008), 287 (2009), 181 (2010), 258 (2011), 287 (2012), and 54 (2013).  

In 2023 (representing the 2020 tax year), 5,116 properties received delinquent tax notices, but in the end, the Treasury Office foreclosed on only six: five vacant lots and one unoccupied residence.

In 2024 (2021 tax year), the treasurer foreclosed on twelve vacant lots and one unoccupied residence.

What accounts for the dramatic drop?

McClary created a wide-ranging network of agencies and local resources to help homeowners retain—and even maintain—their properties. She was the first treasurer in Michigan to hire a social worker to work face-to-face with homeowners.

The Tax Prevention Plan

Sharp inherited McClary’s team of three (one social worker, two tax advisors). “I was shocked to see how small the team is, considering the scope of their responsibilities.” They answer questions over the phone, knock on doors, learn property owners’ stories, research title work, complete mountains of paperwork on residents’ behalf, educate homeowners about the tax process, provide foreclosure-prevention measures, and try to match individuals with community resources. The social worker has even, on rare occasions, accompanied elderly or disabled homeowners to meetings, agencies, and even on one occasion, to a doctor’s appointment. 

“They don’t have nine-to-five jobs,” Sharp says. “We believe everyone has a story, and everyone deserves to have their stories told. This team works tirelessly.” She asked that their names remain confidential.

“A personal, human element takes a lot more time than posting mailings,” one tax advisor points out. “But it benefits us all—our fellow residents and our community—as we try to keep people in their homes.”

With new federal economic policies emerging and recent local millage increases, Sharp anticipates that the future might be “challenging” for many residents. She worries that these factors, compounded by inflation, may lead to a crisis for the county’s most vulnerable populations.

How the Treasury Office helps prevent tax delinquencies

A treasurer’s primary duties include safeguarding public funds; collecting and accounting for revenues; managing investments; and receipting, recording, and depositing revenues for all county services. The office also certifies deeds, issues dog and kennel licenses, and collects delinquent property taxes.

The law requires the Treasurer to send three mailings before moving to foreclosure measures—“but we mail at least five to delinquent properties before the forfeiture notices,” a tax specialist observes.

“We’re here to listen to people’s stories and offer resources so they can meet their tax obligations and stay in their homes,” adds the social worker. “Nowadays, we’re dealing with a majority of Baby Boomers and veterans. They may be facing a number of challenges beyond paying their taxes. We look for every opportunity to meet them in person and help.”

She often appears on homeowners’ doorsteps, armed with a stack of resources that can address the concerns she sees and hears about, ranging from the need for a wheelchair ramp to a new stove or roof or shut-off utilities.

The Property Tax Assistance Program offers tax reductions for individuals with disabilities, low-income homeowners, and seniors who are struggling financially. Disabled veterans can file for an exemption from paying real property taxes on their principal residence. In some cases, cash-strapped homeowners can get hardship exemptions from foreclosure—although in that case, the taxes will need to be paid, with interest, in the future.

Team members have been known to contact family members of seniors suffering from dementia, connect veterans to VA programs, petition courts for a guardian or conservator for incapacitated homeowners; research assisted living options; translate paperwork for foreign-speaking residents; help homeowners acquire Principal Residence discounts; and refer others to plumbers, electricians, and housing services.

“A lot of this work is far beyond their job descriptions,” Sharp points out.

“My job is to listen to people’s stories and challenges,” says the social worker. “Often people who qualify for those programs don’t know they are eligible, let alone how to apply for them. We can connect them to organizations and services that can help.”

The Treasury Office has partnered with Habitat for Humanity, Jewish Family Services, Friends in Deed, Barrier Busters, Legal Services, the Michigan State University Extension Service, and the Housing Bureau for Seniors. Legal Services and the Office of Community Development help prevent mortgage foreclosure.

Meanwhile, the team is also searching for property owners whose properties were foreclosed in the recent past, to offer compensation for the sales.

Michigan’s 1999 tax foreclosure law allowed counties to auction off foreclosed properties and keep all proceeds after paying the associated taxes and fees. But one recent case changed that.

After a property owner in Oakland County failed to pay a $285 tax debt, the county sold his property for $24,500 and kept the entire amount. The court ruled the action was unconstitutional, prompting a landmark Supreme Court decision: counties can no longer retain those surplus proceeds from foreclosed property sales. The Treasury Office has to reach out to all owners whose properties were foreclosed from 2014 to the present.

“This team makes a difference in people’s lives,” Sharp says. “It’s much more sustainable to help keep people housed and their properties maintained. We listen to our neighbors’ stories and offer help—and we’re anticipating that more help will be needed in the coming years.”