Dearborn City Council listens to a petitioner, Oct. 26

DEARBORN — Sultana Saleh’s father died in car accident three months ago. Her husband was murdered in 2007. Her circumstances grew even more difficult when the city purchased her tax-foreclosed house from Wayne County.

Saleh knows little English and was not aware of her property tax obligations and their consequences.

On Monday, the Dearborn City Council voted unanimously to allow Saleh to buy back her house. But she had to come up with $14,000 within 10 days to save her home— money she did not have. Her attorney, Amir Makled, vowed to raise the funds for her through community organizations and donors.

After Saleh’s story aired on a local TV outlet, an anonymous donor wrote Saleh a check for $10,000, the entire amount she was missing.

According to Makled, the donor is neither Arab nor Muslim.

Makled said Saleh, who is raising four children on $2,500 in social security benefits per month, was brought to tears after meeting the donor.

“A woman heard the story of Sultana; she was so moved that she called Channel 7 and said ‘put me on contact with this attorney, so I can see how I can help,’” Makled said. “She said, ‘It’s terrible that your client is in this position. We need to help. What can I do?'”

The attorney said he met the donor at Dearborn’s Administrative Center, where she donated the deficient amount.

“The check’s been given to the city already,” Makled said. “The donor had no connection to Sultana, no connection to our community; she is just somebody with a good heart. Sultana is going to stay in her house.”

The council sympathetic to homeowners

At a special meeting Monday, the council looked at the second group of homeowners trying to reacquire their tax- foreclosed homes. There was a similar meeting last month.

On Monday, the council allowed seven homeowners to buy back their properties for the amount of taxes owed on them. Only one petitioner was denied.

Municipalities have the right to purchase properties on which taxes have been past due for three years. Dearborn officials say the city is exercising the right to stabilize the neighborhood by targeting rental homes and properties that are a nuisance to the community.

Accompanied by lawyers, homeowners who lost their houses to the city made their cases to the council Monday. 

They had compelling stories, ranging from financial hardships, to misunderstanding payment plans with the county, to bureaucratic mishaps.

All seven council members voted to allow Sura Hassan to repurchase her home. Hassan’s husband told the council about his family’s financial difficulties. He said as the sole employed adult, he works up to 12 hours daily, but it is still barely enough for the household, which includes his parents, sister, wife and three children. 

“Everybody learns from his mistakes,” he said. “I’ve made mistakes. I’m only 30 years old… I made a mistake by being behind on my taxes, but now I am back on track.”

As a part of the agreement, the city required Hassan to convert her two-family home into a single unit within six months.

After the council’s decision, Hassan and her family members celebrated with hugs and tears of joy as they waved gratefully while leaving the council chambers.

While the council voted unanimously in favor Hassan and Saleh, not all the cases were so straightforward. 

Alasad Alkadhy was one vote away from losing his home because he was $12.79 short on a tax payment in 2012. Alkadhy missed another payment in the fall 2013 but paid his taxes for 2014. However, it was the 2012 deficiency that allowed his home to go into default. The total amount he failed to pay was $233.47.

When the warning notices came from the county, Alkadhy was out of the country.

Alkadhy, who bought the house during the recession, said he spent close to $50,000 to bring the house up to code.

He told the council he intended to live in the house, but rented it out because his wife lives in Yemen and her immigration visa status took longer than expected.

Citing numerous grass and garbage violations and the fact that the home is not owner-occupied, Councilman Tom Tafelski made a motion to deny Alkadhy. The motion failed 4-3, with Tafelski, Robert Abraham and Brian O’Donnell voting for it.

After requiring Alkadhy to move into the house and take better care of his property, the council voted to allow him to reacquire the home. The final vote was 5-2 in favor of Alkadhy, with Abraham changing his position.

The only petitioner who was denied lost in a 6-1 vote. The homeowner had been allowed to buy back the house three years ago.

Most residents’ requests to retain their homes were approved Monday. But last month, petitioners were not as fortunate. The council voted to keep several homes, including at least two that are owner-occupied.