Metro Property Group is threatening to evict and “trash out” Ms. Henderson from her home of 36 years, calling her a “Squatter.” This is the same company that wins superficial and flattering coverage from the Free Press for “buying homes to revitalize Detroit” (2/26/13).
Join US:
March 9, Saturday, 10 am to Demonstrate at Metro Property Management, 10641 Joy Rd. on Detroit’s west side.
March 11, Monday, 8:45 am at 36th District Court to Support Ms. Henderson in the Courtroom of Judge Patricia Jefferson, 421 Madison in Detroit, next to Ford Field.
The Details:
Urealdene Henderson has lived at her home on Stoepel in Detroit for 36 years. She worked at Great Lakes Steel/US Steel for 34 of those years as a member of United Steelworkers Local 1299. In 2006, Ms. Henderson was diagnosed with cancer and was off work for three years for treatment. She returned to work in 2009, only to be laid off. This is when she got behind on her property taxes. She now is retired and on disability from US Steel.
Ms. Henderson has paid off the mortgage on her house, but she fell behind on taxes. She had a deal with the Wayne County Treasurer to pay $2,100 by October 15, 2012, to prevent tax foreclosure. Through no fault of Ms. Henderson, her payment arrived October 18 and the Treasurer had already sold Ms. Henderson’s home at auction to Metro Property Management for $7,000.
Ms. Henderson contacted Metro Property Management right away, explained the situation, and offered $10,000 to buy back her home. Metro refused and said they wanted $52,000, when houses in Ms. Henderson’s neighborhood are selling for $7,000 to $10,000. Metro subsequently said they wouldn’t sell to Ms. Henderson at all, and would only rent her the home for $1,000 a month.
Metro also started to put notices on Ms. Henderson’s door to try to frighten her into moving. One Notice said: “This property is illegally occupied by a SQUATTER. The Detroit Police Department has been notified.” The notice went on to threaten that she would be “arrested by the Detroit Police Department for Trespassing” and “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” The most recent notice announced that Metro Property Management “will proceed with the eviction and trash out.”
These notices from Metro Property Management are threatening, untrue and illegal. These are attempts to frighten Ms. Henderson into vacating her home of 36 years without defending herself in court or attempting to reach a negotiated settlement.
Metro Property Management is one of several so-called “developers” who have descended on the people and neighborhoods of Detroit in recent years as a result of the foreclosure crisis. They target occupied homes that people are struggling to save and threaten to evict and “trash” them out, profiting like vultures off the misery and difficulties of the people of Detroit. Urealdene Henderson, her family, her friends and supporters from Detroit Eviction Defense are saying to Metro Property Management: stop the eviction and negotiate a reasonable price for Ms. Henderson to buy back her home.
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Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 
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