More than 13,000 Detroit-area property owners have entered into payment plans hoping to avoid losing their homes to tax foreclosure, but an additional 16,000 living in their homes had yet to take advantage of the offer ahead of Tuesday's deadline.
Hundreds of applicants sat in a hotel ballroom waiting for the opportunity to plead their cases before Wayne County Treasury workers, with many lining up before 7 a.m. to be heard before the 4:30 p.m. deadline.
"I'm downhill, and I can't get out," said Kevin Franklyn, who was waiting his turn to see whether the more than $15,000 he owes on his home and a dozen or so rental properties could be turned into something more manageable. "I'm going to try to pay what I can," said Franklyn, 46, who blamed his tenants' nonpayment of rent for his struggles. - AP