Posts Tagged ‘oakland’

It is a three-pronged attack that will pin down house owners as foreclosures march relentlessly on. Taxes will rise, value of houses will fall together in shrinkage in services. These three curses will hibernate but sprout in spring. It is inevitable – the seeds having been sown by foreclosures.

To take few examples – Oakland County will see three consecutive years of decline in property tax amounting to $27.5 million; in Wayne County the fiscal year that ended on 30th September the value of property declined in all the 43 municipalities. Thus more and more communities are apprehending reduced collection of property tax during 2008 because of foreclosures. Michigan State will be lighter by $27.5 million in taxes in the forthcoming year. This reduction will tell upon less of funds for public schools, parks, jails and community colleges.

Oakland community personnel are gearing up to face a barrage of questions from house owners contesting tax assessments and demanding more community services. The only way the government can provide services is to raise taxes somehow. But there will be angry reactions to imposition of increased house taxes. Why should the common man pay more when the real estate price has gone down?

Those who have recently bought houses will not be affected. House owners who are residing for quite a number of years and have taken advantage of the state law that gave protection from rise even during the housing boom are not going to be spared now. The same law will now fix their taxes at par with the actual market value – means a rise from what it was before. Oakland will see tax collection shrink to 0.4% after many years of growth. The State government is fumbling to manage with state aid and skyrocketing health coverage costs for employees. The outcome is that 1,600 police personnel, more than 2,000 in the fire services have lost their jobs since the turn of this century. In each community there are more plans about layoffs.

Some city officials have already started to reschedule their finances. Decision will have to be taken about what to snip off. A revenue loss might be equivalent to funds required to keep streetlights on! In Warren, Detroit’s second largest city, two thirds of the budget rolls in from property taxes. It will be difficult to prune and trim a deficit of 1.5%.

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Patrician Jennings is in a fix. The sword of foreclosure is hanging over her head – about to fall. Unemployed she is late by three months on her mortgage installments for her house in Pontiac, Michigan. Desperate she hung a signboard “For Sale by Owner”. Then did the next wise thing – attended a seminar organized by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago at Detroit.

At the meeting the Resource Development Coordinator for Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency advised homeowners that in a situation like Jennings the first thing is to chalk out an emergency budget cutting out on anything but the bare essentials. Next is to augment income. The main priority and target should be the determination that the home would not be sacrificed.

For those with a student loan there is the facility of applying for a deferment citing reasons of economic hardship and unemployment. Payments then might be suspended for a limited time giving the owner breathing time. For particulars click on salliemae.com.. The quicker one act the easier it will be stall foreclosure.

The next alternative will be to change the mortgage lender without delay. Never loose your cool. Be calm and pleasant while contacting personnel in the loss-mitigation department and not the collection section.

Seek an appointment with a housing counselor who has been approved by the US department of Housing and Urban Development. You can get a brochure that explains ways out of the foreclosure mess. Avoid foreclosure scams. Never give your signature to a service that charges upfront for fixing the damage.

In the case of the owner negotiating the sale of the house it is advisable to check out on the prospective buyer. Wolves in grandmother’s clothes come prowling around to make a fast buck. Never allow yourself to be rushed by smart talk. The usual ploy is for the crook to offer collection of rent for sometime and not take mortgage payments. Later the lender has to foreclose. The point to bear in mind is that by signing over the deed to another does not necessarily absolve you from the obligation of repaying the loan.

For those above 62 who have equity on their property but are facing problems with meeting up their bills the option is to find out about reversing mortgages. The site also gives invaluable advice about avoiding predatory lending traps.

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