Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Moratorium Now! Coalition Takes Demands Back to State Capital, Tonight 6:00pm

MORATORIUM NOW! COALITION TO STOP FORECLOSURES AND EVICTIONS

32 East Adams, 4th Floor, Detroit, MI 48226

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 27, 2009
Contact: 313-319-0870

MORATORIUM NOW COALITION SUPPORTS WAYNE COUNTY SHERIFF

WARREN EVANS’ APPLICATION FOR GOVERNOR GRANHOLM TO
DECLARE MORATORIUM ON FORECLOSURES IN WAYNE COUNTY
DENOUNCES GRANHOLM’S REJECTION OF APPLICATION AS
LEGALLY INDEFENSIBLE AND AN AFFRONT TO POOR AND WORKING PEOPLE
ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR DEMONSTRATION AT STATE OF STATE ADDRESS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009, 6:00 PM AT THE STATE CAPITOL

The Moratorium Now Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions fully supports Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans’ effort in applying to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for a Declaration of a State of Emergency in Wayne County and the imposition of a six-month on Moratorium on Foreclosures in Wayne County to meet the crisis.

Governor Granholm’s summary rejection of this request is an affront to the poor and working people in Wayne County suffering every day from the foreclosure epidemic that is destroying our communities. Last week the Detroit News, citing Realcomp, reported that the median sale prices of homes in Metro Detroit due to foreclosures fell to $57,000 in 2008, a 46.3% decline from 2007’s median sale price of $108,100. In the City of Detroit, the median sale price for homes dropped to an astonishing $7,500. Despite the false pronouncements of “loan modification programs” by many banks and mortgage companies, foreclosures and evictions are continuing unabated in Wayne County. Every day seniors as well as unemployed workers are being thrown out of their homes.

Jerry Goldberg, an attorney who defends individuals facing foreclosure, and a member of the Coalition, stated: “Governor Granholm’s statement that she does not have the legal authority to declare a moratorium is absolutely incorrect. In fact, under Michigan law pursuant to MCL 10.31, the governor is invested by Michigan law with the power to declare a State of Emergency in times of great public crisis either in a particular locale on application of a mayor or Sheriff, or statewide; and to promulgate reasonable rules, orders and regulations ‘necessary to protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation within the affected area under control.’ In Walsh v City of River Rouge, 385 Mich 623 (1971), the Michigan Supreme Court held that the emergency powers to invoke and act on a State of Emergency were exclusive to the governor.

“In Russell v Battle Creek Lumber Co., 265 Mich 649 (1934), the Michigan Supreme Court upheld the emergency moratorium statute, Act No. 98, Pub. Acts 1933, which with subsequent amendments placed a five (5) year Moratorium on foreclosures in Michigan.

“The Michigan Supreme Court adopted the ruling of U.S. Supreme Court in Home Loan & Building Loan Ass’n v Blaisdell, 290 US 398 (1934). In that case, in upholding a Minnesota Moratorium on Foreclosures, the U.S. Supreme Court held that upon a declaration of a State of Emergency and pursuant to a state’s police power during an emergency economic crisis, a moratorium on foreclosures was constitutional, and that a state’s power to protect the health and welfare of the people during crises essentially superseded the contract clause of the constitution. In Makar v Peoples Wayne County Bank of Dearborn, 284 Mich 489 (1938), the Michigan Supreme Court again upheld the constitutionality of the Michigan Moratorium Act, which had been in effect for four years when this case was decided. The Court noted in upholding this Act that one of its purposes was ‘to prevent valuable property from being sold at distress prices occasioned by an economic emergency and to give mortgagors a chance to preserve their equities.’ ”

The Moratorium Now Coalition will be demonstrating in Lansing at the State Capitol on Tuesday February 3, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. when Governor Granholm gives her State of the State address. For transportation information call 313-887-4344. Coalition website is moratorium-mi.org.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Foreclosure sales end in Wayne County

Sheriff says he hopes homeowners will seek help, but Ficano's office questions move's legality.

Darren A. Nichols / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said Monday that mortgage foreclosure sales conducted by his office will halt immediately, a decision he hopes will spur residents to seek loan adjustments through a federal program designed to help them save their homes.

But the move brought mixed reactions from some who wondered if it would hurt the county with the state's highest foreclosure rate -- and a retort from Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano's office questioning the legality of the measure.

"The sheriff appears to have good intentions that would have mass appeal, especially with the struggles we are facing in this region. (But) there is a legitimate question of whether or not he can legally sustain this in a court of law," said Ficano spokeswoman Vanessa Denha-Garmo.The moratorium does not prevent lenders from foreclosing on homes. The Sheriff's Office just won't sell them, Evans said.

Evans said he's reviewed federal laws and concluded that continuing weekly foreclosure sales conflicts with a recently enacted law that protects homeowners. The Troubled Asset Relief Program, known as TARP, that was approved by Congress requires the secretary of the Treasury to implement a plan to mitigate foreclosures, Evans said. He added it includes encouraging mortgage companies to amend loans to enable people to stay in their homes. He said most of the homes in the foreclosed sales are likely covered by TARP, but he's discontinuing the sales because he's not sure.

According to Evans -- who is a candidate for Detroit mayor -- his department has had a 32 percent increase in foreclosure auctions between 2006 and 2007. His office processed 26,314 foreclosure sales in 2007. They dipped to slightly under 20,000 in 2008, in part because of a temporary foreclosure moratorium by lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he said.

Don Calcaterra Jr., president of the Troy-based Towne Mortgage, said the initiative may just lead to more blight in the county, particularly in Detroit."There are some people who have abandoned their homes. If it is done across the board, those houses will not be regenerated and they will still be there as eyesores and continue to cause harm in the neighborhoods in which they are located. You run the risk of (more) blight in the city." He is also skeptical whether the stoppage will bring more people to rework their financial problems with lenders.

"Our greatest challenge is getting people to talk to us," Calcaterra said.

With home foreclosures at an all-time high across the county and state, other officials are taking action to help others get through the tough times.

For example in December, Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell took a stance by refusing to evict renters whose landlords have been foreclosed on. However, in Macomb County, Sheriff Mark Hackel said Monday his auctions will continue, while Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard is seeking a legal opinion.

The Wayne County Sheriff's Office, which conducts about 300 to 400 foreclosure sales every Wednesday and Thursday, could lose as much as $1 million in revenue from halting the sales from the homes that are seized from nonpayment of mortgages.

The county receives $50 for every transaction that goes directly to the Sheriff's Office budget. If the house is not sold, it reverts back to the lending institution.

"There's no way that anybody can predict what's going to happen with the TARP monies. It's a noble act, but I think he's overstepping his bounds," said Tom Korte, a Dearborn Realtor. "It's not his job to determine a course of action that's yet to be determined."

On Jan. 26, Evans wrote a letter to Gov. Jennifer Granholm calling for a state of emergency on the foreclosure crisis in the state's largest county.

Evans also asked the governor to exercise an executive order for a six-month moratorium on foreclosures in Wayne County. The governor's office said it doesn't have the authority to authorize the moratorium.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. You can reach Darren A. Nichols at (734) 462-2190 or dnichols@detnews.com.

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