By Tanya Terry
At the most recent Flint City council meeting held Oct. 23, the council approved a resolution for Legal Services of Eastern Michigan for funds for eviction and foreclosure assistance.
The resolution was “resolving that the appropriate city officials are authorized to execute an agreement with Legal Services of Eastern Michigan to provide assistance to low-income residents facing foreclosures or eviction…”
The amount the council approved for this purpose was up to $50,000, which is to be paid from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fund.
During a September Genesee County tax auction, investors agreed to buy 230 foreclosed, occupied homes for more than $1.2 million. One hundred ninety of those homes are in the city of Flint, and the families living in the houses have been facing potential eviction.
The residents living in the recently purchased homes received letters from the investor group two weeks after the auction sale. They were told to contact the company within seven days about renting or to get ready to be evicted.
These residents’ homes ended up in the auction after property taxes were not paid for two years or more. At that point, the county could foreclose on them.
Mayor Sheldon Neeley proposed the resolution at the council meeting. Then, City Administrator Clyde Edwards said that the funds could go toward helping not only those whose homes were sold in the auction, but anyone living in the city facing foreclosure or eviction.
