Make It Home partnership helps nearly 100 more families become homeowners

• Rocket Community Fund, United Community Housing Coalition and City of Detroit have helped 1,600 Detroit families at risk of displacement since program launched in 2017
• Affordable home-purchase program that gives residents living in tax foreclosed properties the option to purchase the home before the annual Wayne County foreclosure auction.
• Rocket Community Fund committed $700,000 in new funding to support this year's homeowners and to provide ongoing home repair assistance to Make It Home participants

The Rocket Community Fund, Mayor Mike Duggan and the United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) today announced that 96 more Detroit families will become homeowners through the Make It Home program this year. The majority of these households are families that have been paying rent to their landlords, only to find the landlord had not been paying taxes, sending the home into tax foreclosure and putting them at risk of being displaced.

This year's Make It Home cohort will bring more than 1,600 the number of Detroit families that have not only avoided eviction but have become the owner of their home since the program's launch in 2017.

"These are individuals and families who have been paying their rent every month, only to find out that they faced losing their home because their landlord wasn't paying the taxes," said Mayor Duggan. "Thanks to the generosity of the Rocket Community Fund and partnership with UCHC and the Wayne County Treasurer, we are able to give these families the peace of mind and security of going from a vulnerable renter to a homeowner."

New Make it Home homeowner, Brian Nelson takes a selfie with (l-r) Mayor Mike Duggan, Rocket Community Fund Executive Director Laura Grannemann, City Council President Mary Sheffield and City Council member Mary Waters. After the owner of the home Nelson was renting failed to pay property taxes and lost it to foreclosure, the Make It Home program stepped in and has helped make Nelson the new owner of the home.

How Make It Home works
Make It Home leverages the City of Detroit's "right of refusal," allowing the City to purchase properties before the tax foreclosure auction for the value of the back taxes owed, or two times the state equalized value (SEV) if a Claim of Interest was filed by the previous owner. These properties are then purchased by the United Community Housing Coalition using philanthropic funding from Rocket Community Fund and others.

UCHC sells the properties to the occupants through a 0% interest land contract with a payment plan that enables each resident to make payments into an escrow account for roughly a year until they reach the purchase price for their property. This year, families paid an average of $6,500 to achieve homeownership. Upon completing their payments, they receive the deed to their property, while also gaining access to home repair grants, loans and financial counseling provided through the program.

"Make It Home transforms a destructive system that leads to displacement and instability into one that builds generational wealth for Detroit families," said Laura Grannemann, Executive Director, Rocket Community Fund. "We're not just helping families stay in their homes, we're empowering them with the resources to invest even more deeply into their communities and the long-term health of our community."

Make It Home provides a critical lifeline to renters who face displacement because their landlords did not pay property taxes. However, the program also supports other situations, including homes that entered tax foreclosure instead of transferring to a family member because of inadequate estate planning.

Anita Graves is one of the residents benefitting from Make It Home this year. Graves' mother died in December of 2021 at the age of 50. Graves was 25-years-old at the time and a full-time student, and was unaware of what would happen to her mother's home on the city's west side. Her mother's home ended up going to probate court. The home was foreclosed in early 2024. This past June, UCHC reached out to Graves about the Make It Home program and she was able to purchase her mother's home and moved in this past February.

"I'm incredibly grateful for UCHC and the Make It Home program for helping me save my mother's home," said Graves. "It's more than a place to live; it's a piece of my family's history. Moving back in feels like reclaiming something precious, and I couldn't be more thankful for the support that made it possible."

"The Make It Home program is a testament to the power of community, compassion, and opportunity," said Council President Mary Sheffield. "By ensuring that Detroiters can stay in their homes and secure a pathway to homeownership, we are not only preserving neighborhoods, but we are also providing a foundation for families to build a brighter future."

"Detroit is a city of opportunity, the birthplace of the American Dream - having a stable job with benefits and the ability to own your house to build wealth," said Councilmember Mary Waters. "Programs like Make It Home help us make this dream a reality, and I am so thankful that this program has helped us move 1,600 families from renting to homeownership in our community."

Mayor Mike Duggan credits Dan Gilbert with the idea for the Make it Home program, which has helped 1,600 families that had been renting, but at risk of displacement through no fault of their own, to become the owner of those homes.

Expanded Support for Home Repair
For many participants in the Make It Home program, getting the deed is just the first step toward long-term stability. The Make It Home repair program was founded in 2019 to support participants who were left facing deferred maintenance from former owners. Through grants and low-interest loans funded by the Rocket Community Fund and administered by UCHC, Make It Home participants can address critical repairs focused on health and habitability.

Since 2019, 566 homes have benefitted from Make It Home-associated repair resources. This year, the Rocket Community Fund committed an additional $300,000 to the program, bringing its total support for repair funding to $4 million.

Comprehensive Housing Support
UCHC is a Detroit nonprofit that has provided comprehensive housing assistance to low-income residents since 1973. In addition to administering the Make It Home program, the organization helps thousands of families each year to retain homeownership through workshops on City programs, such as the Homeowner Property Exemption (HOPE), Pay As You Stay (PAYS) and the Gilbert Family Foundation-funded Detroit Tax Relief Fund.

"Make It Home is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in addressing complex housing challenges," said Ted Phillips, Executive Director of UCHC. "We're grateful for the partnership with the Rocket Community Fund and the City of Detroit in creating a program that not only prevents displacement but also empowers Detroiters to build equity and achieve their dreams of homeownership when many thought that was impossible."

Anita Graves was at risk of losing her Detroit family home due to probate issues after her mother passed away. Through the Make it Home Program, she became one of 96 program participants this year to gain the security of owning the home they were at risk of being displaced from.

About the Rocket Community Fund
The Rocket Community Fund aims to simplify complex and inequitable systems to ensure that every American has access to stable, healthy housing. It also invests in people and practices that provide meaningful opportunities for education and employment.

Through its For-More-Than-Profit model, the Rocket Community Fund recognizes that business and community are inextricably linked, and it purposefully harnesses team member talent, technology, policy advocacy and philanthropic resources to invest in comprehensive community development in Detroit and across the country.

Alongside financial investments, the Rocket Community Fund has organized Rocket Companies, Bedrock and other affiliated team members to provide more than one million volunteer hours nationwide, including more than 720,000 in Detroit.

For more information, visit RocketCommunityFund.org.

About United Community Housing Coalition
The United Community Housing Coalition's Mission is to help low-income residents stay in their homes and strengthen their communities, through representation, support, and ownership. United Community Housing Coalition is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing housing assistance to Detroit's low-income residents. Since 1973, they have worked to keep people in their homes and secure affordable housing for those in need. They believe that having a place to live is a basic human right and are
passionate about preserving this right in our communities. Their services are provided to income-eligible families and individuals free of charge. For more information, go to https://uchcdetroit.org

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