Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed the “Pay As You Stay Bill” into law. This new bill is designed to help Detroiters keep their home from foreclosure through affordable payment methods. To qualify for PAYS, you must be eligible for the Homeowners Property Tax Assistance Program and fill out the HPTAP application by March 28. Once your application is submitted and approved, the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office will cease pending foreclosures on your home.
The bill was introduced in October of 2019 by Rep. Wendell Byrd (D-Detroit) along with Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans, Mayor Mike Duggan, and Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree.
“If you go online, fill out this form, get your forms in, then get approved by March 28, your foreclosure will stop,” said Mayor Mike Duggan during a press conference. “On April 15, you will start getting information in the mail from the treasurer. Almost everybody in arrears has significant interest and penalties that have accumulated. What this does is wipe out those interests and penalties for a ton of folks.”
PAYS has three different variables:
- Once you enroll, all interest, penalties, and fees would be eliminated.
- To reduce an undue burden on homeowners, the balance due would be limited to back taxes only or 10% of a home’s taxable value – whichever is less.
- The remaining balance would be paid back over three years at zero percent interest.
Homeowners who qualify for a full or partial Property Tax Exemption and enroll in future years would be eligible for the program. To be PTE-eligible, a household with one person could not make more than $19,303 per year; a home with four people could not make more than $28,671.
To fill out the HPTAP application, CLICK HERE.