DETROIT TAX RELIEF FUND

“It was very exciting. It was relieving,” Cardella said. “It was a lifesaver. It’s not an overstatement.”

READ: Local organizations to invest $500M into Detroit, eliminate homeowner property tax debt for thousandsThe funds will start with help for homeowners with overdue property taxes. “No person should have to make the decision of the choice between keeping them home of feeding their family,” Gilbert said. Gilbert and his wife, Jennifer, are pledging half of a billion dollars through the Gilbert Family Foundation and the Rocket Community Fund to make a real impact on the problems people face. “I’d much rather see property taxes paid, interest and penalties waived, fees waived, fees removed and people have the ability to pay their taxes,” Evans said. AdTo learn more about the organizations’ investment, visit the Gilbert Family Foundation’s website here.

The effort is kicking off with $15 million to pay off the property tax debt of 20,000 of the city's poorest homeowners. The $15 million Detroit Tax Relief Fund will leverage existing state and local programs that eliminate or reduce property tax bills, then pay off the remaining tax bill. It will be administered by a local nonprofit that also will provide counseling to homeowners to keep them out of future property tax debt. “It’s a problem that is ... massive and it's contagious.”Quianna Sims is one of the Detroit homeowners who will have their tax debt paid off. ___This story has been updated to correct that the Detroit Tax Relief Fund is only the $15 million that will pay off the property tax debt.

(CBS DETROIT) – During a press conference Thursday, billionaire businessman and Philanthropist Dan Gilbert, along with his wife Jennifer, announced a half-billion-dollar investment over the next 10 years in Detroit. “The first initiative we will be talking with this half a billion-dollar commitment will be to eliminate the scrooge of property tax debt that has hung over tens of thousands of Detroiter’s over the past several years, in some cases generations,” said Gilbert. Gilbert says 1/3 of Detroit homeowners find themselves underwater with property taxes partly due to penalties and interest accruing for years. To help with that burden, the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund established the Detroit Tax Relief Fund, which $15 or the $500 million investment will go toward. Gilbert says this investment leverages existing property tax assistance programs, including the (HATAP) and (PAYS), and will go to 20,000 Detroit homeowners eligible.

One major announcement: Part of the investment will eliminate property tax debt owed by tens of thousands of low-income Detroit homeowners. According to officials, an initial investment of $15 million from the Gilbert Family Foundation will be used to establish the Detroit Tax Relief Fund. Through the fund, an estimated 20,000 low-income homeowners in Detroit will have their property tax debt completely wiped away. The Rocket Community Fund operates under the company. “This impactful announcement comes with a promise of a brighter future and a deepened commitment to Detroit.”AdTo learn more about the organizations’ investment, visit the Gilbert Family Foundation’s website here.