The number of Kalamazoo County parcels that went into tax foreclosure recntly dropped about 36 percent from 2012, reports MLive. In the county, 221 parcels were foreclosed on this year because of unpaid property taxes from 2010 and prior years, Kalamazoo County Treasurer Mary Balkema said. That's a drop from record-setting 346 parcels the treasurer foreclosed on in 2012.
Owners of those parcels owed a total of base tax for 2010 and prior years of nearly $537,000 and interest and penalties of nearly $327,000. About 20 of the parcels that went into tax foreclosure were homesteads. The rest were vacant lots, rental homes and businesses. Parcels in the city of Kalamazoo made up 78 percent of the total foreclosures.
Excerpt: "The better news is the parcels we did not foreclose on," Balkema told the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners. Balkema said her office helped 271 property owners avoid foreclosure. Of those, 36 received help from a lifeline grant. Another 62 received help from the Helping Michigan's Hardest Hit Homeowners program. Balkema's office gave 173 property owners facing financial hardship an extra year to pay their back taxes.
Source: MLive
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