Dozens of public housing tenants in Detroit are being offered a priority path to homeownership as the Detroit Housing Commission begins selling its single-family houses, including a newly funded assistance package aimed at helping buyers handle down payments and needed repairs. The commission plans to sell all 195 of its homes and to begin by giving occupied units to current tenants, according to the program details described by DHC officials.
The program is set to be announced Wednesday, and it is backed by a $1.2 million commitment from the Rocket Community Fund. Beth Sorce, the fund’s senior director of housing stability, said the Rocket Community Fund’s investment is intended to support Detroit families as they pursue homeownership, while also tying that assistance to the commission’s broader mission of helping residents reach stable ownership.
Rocket Community Fund’s support is expected to help with the first 10 home purchases. The assistance includes down-payment help for buyers and repair work, with a cap of up to $60,000 that DHC would perform through its role in overseeing the properties. Sorce framed the partnership as a way to help tenants realize a “dream of homeownership,” while also making clear the money is tied to the initial round of sales rather than a one-time grant for all participating residents.
DHC Director Arthur Jemison said the sales are meant to benefit both residents and the agency. He described the discounts that tenants could receive when buying their homes, and he said the sales would help generate “capital programs” elsewhere in the DHC portfolio. Jemison said the capital the commission makes from the sales would be directed back into its housing programs, and he linked the need for that reinvestment to the condition of many homes in the commission’s inventory.
Jemison also said the commission expects the sales to reduce pressure on operating costs. He pointed to the reality that many of the properties have fallen into disrepair and have historically had low inspection scores. Under the program timeline, the DHC will carry out inspections in the months ahead to determine what repairs are needed and to set purchase prices.
The sales process starts with tenant eligibility, but buyers still face the practical requirements of securing mortgage financing. Jemison said buyers must qualify for mortgages, and tenant credit barriers would be addressed through a DHC-run financial stability program. He said tenants who need help improving credit scores would be enrolled and given time to qualify before moving forward.
As described by DHC officials, there is also a financial requirement at the point of purchase: residents would have to put down at least 1% of the purchase price—$1,000 for a $100,000 home, for example. The grant support is structured to cover 20% of the sale price for down payment costs, with a dollar-for-dollar match for additional funds buyers put toward that down payment, up to a $15,000 match cap.
For the first wave, DHC expects to prioritize about 150 occupied single-family homes, with those tenants receiving the first chance to buy. DHC real estate development director Tyler Hardy said the average sale price would be around $82,000, and the agency plans to announce in April which residents are immediately eligible and which will be placed on a waitlist. DHC said it hopes to close on the first 10 sales this spring, and Sorce said Rocket Community Fund may contribute additional funds to support more purchases over the following two years.
Even with assistance, not every tenant who wants to buy may qualify. Laurise Barber, who is seeking to purchase her DHC home, said she believes it is the only realistic path to financial independence for her and her children. She said her credit score is “in the 400s,” which she described as not high enough for a mortgage, and she said she would be “devastated” if she could not qualify.
Barber also described the instability she has faced while living in DHC units, including safety and maintenance issues. She said that when she first moved into public housing she fell through a hole in a bathroom that injured her and made it harder for her to find employment, and she said later she moved into a DHC-owned house in 2023 with problems including a faulty electrical system and a leak in her kitchen ceiling. She said she submitted work orders over the years without repairs being completed, and she said she has not been able to find steady work.
Barber said she worries the homeownership program may come too late for her. She said she applied for the DHC financial stability program after moving in but that the commission never followed up, and she said her concern has intensified as the process for tenant buying moves forward. Barber compared her emotional situation to the way she feels each day she does not know whether she will be able to become a homeowner.