Sumpter Board forgives $19,000 of rehab lien to help family sell house

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
It wasn’t easy, but the attorney for a couple at 42560 Willis Road convinced the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees to forgive his clients $19,000 of a $24,000 housing rehab lien to help them sell their house.
At the May 28 meeting of the township board, Mr. Sinclair, attorney for Mr. and Mrs. Torres, explained that eight years ago the couple bought the house and it turned out to be a fixer-upper. Besides the cost of the house, they put $100,000 more into the house, for a total of $300,000, he said.
They had no more money to make payments and they got an EDGE loan from the county.
In January, the first mortgage lender foreclosed and the six-month redemption period runs through the end of July, when the bank will take over the house.
Sinclair said the couple is trying to negotiate a short sale and they are asking the township to consider releasing the lien on the property, so this could be offered to the first lender as part of the deal.
He said they are trying to negotiate a sale to a third party.
“You’re asking the township not to recoup $24,000 which could be used for other people,” said Trustee Peggy Morgan. “They come to us for help … If we eat this, it’s $24,000 our residents don’t get for help.”
Township attorney Rob Young explained the situation. Sinclair’s clients were entitled to the rehab loan from the township and it went into the home. The property wouldn’t have the value it does unless the township had given the money.
But, the money Sumpter loses in the deal means it doesn’t get the chance to help others, he said. With the current situation, however, there is no way the township could get its $24,000 back.
“If it goes to foreclosure, it’s zero to us,” Young said, adding he and Sinclair had dickered over what the township might be willing to give up, and Sinclair thought getting $2,500 for the township was reasonable.
“If we get $5,000, someone can put in a water tank,” said Supervisor Johnny Vawters.
“If we do nothing, they lose the house and we get nothing,” attorney Young said.
After much discussion during the work-study session, Trustee Peggy Morgan made a motion at the regular meeting that the board waive $19,000 of its loan and settle for $5,000 owed to the township, based on approval of the short sale of the property. The vote was unanimous.
In other business at the May 28 meeting, the board:
• Approved the second reading and final approval of the new zoning section of the ordinances. Attorney Young said the new zoning ordinance will take effect 30 days after publication in the Independent;
• Tabled a resolution for the township to petition for the cleaning of the North Branch Swan Creek Inter-County Drains until attorney Young can get more details on how this action would affect township residents. The resolution calls for the township to pay “an assessment at large for a percentage of the total amount”;
• Approved appointments to the Construction Board of Appeals of Mark Miles, Ryan Kern, and Jeff Kemp;
• Approved Randy Brown Landscaping’s lower bid of $3,193.50 for landscaping the north and east side of the township hall;
• Approved the $7,725 bid by Davenport Brothers to replace the sidewalk on the west side of township hall with a handicap-accessible system. This project will be paid for with federal Community Development Block Grant funds;
• Approved the $16,600 low bid of “Keep It in the 70’s” to install a new air conditioning unit at the Community Center gym;
• Approved a contract until 2016 with Midwest Backflow for water connections compliance;
• Approved an updated siren warning protocol as presented by Police Lt. Eric Luke;
• Approved paying warrants of $60,418.82;
• Heard Supervisor Johnny Vawters announce that as of May 29 he will no longer have a deputy supervisor and, “I am moving in a different direction in the supervisor’s office.” Craig Moody had been Vawter’s deputy supervisor since Vawters was elected;
• Heard Susette Doyle complain about not being able to find current minutes on the township web site and she was told to look at sumptertwp.com, where things are up to date; and
• Advised Trustee William Hamm to bring back his suggestion on cutting the permit cost for a large pole barn until the next meeting, so it could be studied by attorney Young. Hamm said the township charged by the square foot and the man was charged $1,200 for her permit. “We kinda raped the guy, kind of a terrible cost to the guy,” Hamm said, adding, “We came up with a new figure” of $530. A man in the audience said he just paid $1,865 for a permit for his house and asked if his cost could be cut, too.