When they bought their house from a private developer on Detroit’s east side nearly four years ago, Emily Weiss and Gabrielle Durnen were told it had a clear title and there was no mention of it being formerly owned by the city’s land bank.
Then, in December 2025, they got a letter.
The land bank was notifying the couple of its interest in their home, under the terms of an agreement Weiss and Durnen had never been notified of, which was part of a special deal with developer John Hantz in East Village from years before. They were told they needed to show proof of their property being rehabbed in order to clear the land bank’s interest in their property title. And the warranty deed they received from the title company was apparently not valid…