Neighbor To Neighbor: Helping End Property Tax Foreclosure In Detroit

The Rocket Community Fund is the philanthropic arm of Rocket Companies^®. Its strategy aims to support thriving, resilient and inclusive communities through data-driven investments in housing, employment and public life. Read about one of their many initiatives – the Neighbor to Neighbor campaign - below.

In Detroit, property tax foreclosure remains one of the biggest barriers to ensuring our community members have access to safe and affordable housing and are able to build wealth through homeownership. 

Despite being eligible for property tax assistance, thousands of Detroit residents are at risk of losing their homes to the county tax auction each year. 

We knew that we could make a difference on this critical issue, so we launched Neighbor to Neighbor in 2017. This unprecedented, community-led tax foreclosure prevention outreach program connects all 60,000 Detroit residents at risk of losing their homes with the resources and information they need to stay in their houses.

Last year, we offered free property tax assistance workshops staffed by community partners and Rocket Companies^® volunteers, which helped drive a 14-year low for property tax foreclosures. Ultimately, we saw an increase in the total number of property tax exemptions year-over-year from 5,750 to 7,601. Even better, 3,600 of the property tax exemptions granted were facilitated through our workshops – nearly 40% of the total! 

“The Neighbor to Neighbor campaign and workshops are driving meaningful and sustainable reductions in property tax foreclosures, allowing thousands more Detroit residents to experience the housing stability they need and deserve,” said Laura Grannemann, Vice President of the Rocket Community Fund.

“Over the last 3 years, the Neighbor to Neighbor campaign has engaged countless homeowners who should have qualified for a complete property tax exemption but were unaware of the process.”

We’re proud to share the release of our second annual Neighbor to Neighbor report, which details our continued progress over the last year. Because of COVID-19, we’ve had to adjust how we’re providing support to communities in 2020.

Instead of door-to-door outreach, we worked with our partners at the City of Detroit Board of Review and students from the College for Creative Studies to develop a streamlined, user-friendly version of the Homeowners Property Tax Assistance Program (HPTAP) application that we proactively mailed to 25,000 Detroit homeowners at risk of tax foreclosure. Alongside these do-it-yourself kits, homeowners have free access to support from partners across the city if they need help filling out these applications.

There is still so much to be done. But we’re very proud of how our teams have rallied together to continue creating safe, resilient and thriving communities.