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Community Corner

City Administrators Tally Foreclosures in Trenton

A list of houses in foreclosure or on the brink of foreclosure is available monthly from the Assessor's office.

More and more houses in Trenton and southeastern Michigan are foreclosed or on the brink of foreclosure each year.

Trenton administrators began keeping track of the number of vacant houses in the city on July 1, 2008, after a stressed economy caused record numbers of foreclosures all over Michigan. Since then, there have been a total of 443 vacant houses in Trenton.

As of November 10, there were 111 vacant houses in Trenton according to City Building Inspector Bill Bissland.

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Bissland said the city averages between 90 and 120 vacancies year round.

Of the 443 vacant houses since 2008 five have been demolished, he said.

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There are "a lot of homes in foreclosure, but (some are still) in the redemption phase," Bissland said.

In the redemption phase, though ownership of a house has been transferred to another entity through the process of an auction or sale, the defaulting borrowers still have the opportunity to redeem themselves by paying the full amount owed to the lender according to www.foreclosedhomes.com.

Bissland said a few vacant houses can be overlooked at times, but "two inspectors comb the city daily" to keep an eye on properties that show signs of abandonment. These signs include overgrown lawns and lack of maintenance.

Trenton administrators compile a list of bank owned houses every two to three weeks and have it available to the public at the City Assessor's Office.

Some of these houses are in the redemption phase and may still be occupied.

Woodhaven offers the Detroit Legal News, which has a yearly list of all homes in foreclosure in southeastern Michigan. This 188-page list of forfeited houses is available at Woodhaven City Hall.

Wyandotte has a list of bank owned homes available to the public. It only includes those reported by banks to the city.

Brownstown Township is notified by Wayne County of foreclosed houses and those that can still be redeemed.

Jim Zanglin, the owner of Zanglin Real Estate who has been in realty for 40 years, said foreclosures have changed over the years, with regards to how they are reported.

Zanglin said the only way to know about foreclosures in the past was through the Detroit newspapers, which would report all the foreclosed houses every quarter. Now, we can get individual lists through cities that report the information.

He said years ago, the average sale price of a house was $150,000 and Zanglin Real Estate would have about 150 sales per year.

Now, he said, with foreclosures, they make about $50,000 per house, but sell around 350 a year.

"We have two women who work on foreclosures seven days a week," Zanglin said, regarding the volume of foreclosures he works with.

Bissland said the Assessor's Office does not keep track of house prices.

To get the latest list of foreclosures in Trenton, visit the Assessor's office in City Hall at 2800 Third Street.

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