This week the city of Detroit announced a new initiative to help residents gain clean ownership of property passed down to them from family members without a formal will or estate plan.

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The Detroit Heirs’ Property program targets residents whose homes were unofficially passed down through generations of family members, usually meaning the home’s current occupant is not on the deed and does not legally own it. Without a clear path to title and legal ownership, such homeowners often find themselves trying to resolve things in probate court, which can be a lengthy and cumbersome process.

A recent report from the group Detroit Future City found there are probably at least 5,525 such properties in Detroit. Those are homes where the owners listed on tax rolls are known to be deceased. Likely heirs’ properties tend to be concentrated in a handful of Detroit neighborhoods.

Being the current occupant of an heirs’ property comes with inherent disadvantages, according to Rob Lockett, executive director of LISC Detroit, one of the new program’s partners.

“You cannot access certain city services, (and there are) certain loan products you cannot access, without having clear identification of homeownership,” said Lockett. Those things range from city home repair programs, to being unable to tap into a home’s equity because you don’t legally own the property.

Promoting generational wealth through home ownership is an important focus for the initiative, said Anna Shires of Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, another program partner.

“Property values are rising,” Shires said. “Everybody needs to be able to take advantage of that, and use that equity to really build that generational wealth.”

The Detroit Heirs’ Property program will build on, and work in conjunction with, the city of Detroit and the Gilbert Family Foundation, who have been doing similar work in the city for about a year now.

-Reporting by Sarah Cwiek, Michigan Public

Other headlines for Friday, Jan. 17, 2025:

• Longterm Oak Park Councilwoman Carolyn Burns resigned from her post last week due to health issues, The Oakland Press reports. The City Charter dictates that the position must be filled within 30 days and also allows for direct appointments by other council members. The deadline to apply to fill the vacancy is Friday, Jan. 17 and the chosen applicant will serve until the November 2025 elections.
• The Yemeni coffee shop chain Qahwah House celebrated their anniversary this week by giving back to the community, offering eight “lucky” customers at each store location free coffee every day for a month. Qahwah House opened its first location in Dearborn in 2017 and now has over 20 locations across seven states.
• The Anti-Freeze Blues Festival returns to The Magic Bag in Ferndale on Saturday, Jan. 18, featuring the Bobby Murray Revue, The Woodward Horns, Raye Williams and more.
• No. 1. seed in the NFC Divisional Round, the Detroit Lions, will face the No. 6 seed Washington Commanders Saturday night at Ford Field. The last time the two played in the postseason was back in 1999. Kick off is at 8 p.m.

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