More than 60 Detroiters receive deeds to homes through Buy Back Program: "It means a lot to me"

For Kyeisha Ford, buying a home was supposed to provide stability for her family and a place to raise her children.

Instead, she says it became a nightmare.

"I was very hurt. I was frustrated, especially because I bought the house so that I could have security for my two kids," Ford said. "I thought this was a dream come true."

Ford says she paid thousands of dollars for a Detroit home, only to later learn the person who sold it to her didn't legally own the property.

After discovering the home was actually owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority, Ford was connected to the agency's Buy Back Program, which helps residents with a documented connection to Land Bank-owned properties become legal homeowners.

"It's teaching me how to be a homeowner," Ford said. "Since I already spent so much money, they worked with me on the payment plan, and I really appreciate that."

On Friday, Ford was one of 67 Detroit residents receiving a deed through the program.

The Detroit Land Bank Authority created the Buy Back Program to help residents reclaim ownership of homes connected to them through family ties, previous ownership or other qualifying circumstances. Participants complete financial literacy counseling, homeownership education and other requirements before receiving a deed.

Over the last decade, the program has helped more than 1,400 Detroiters become homeowners.

"They sign up, they start saving money on a monthly basis. They go to homeownership classes, home repair classes," said Detroit Land Bank Authority CEO Tammy Daniels. "They take classes to set them up for success."

Every homeowner's journey through the program is different.

For Donta Cole, the opportunity was about preserving family history.

Cole reclaimed the home that once belonged to his great-grandmother, a house he says has been part of his life for decades.

"I grew up in the house my whole life. I've been there 30 years," Cole said. "It means a lot to me. I know my grandmother, my auntie happy that we got to keep it."

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield says programs like Buy Back help families build wealth, create stability and strengthen neighborhoods across the city.

"We're all about empowering people economically, creating and building the middle class," Sheffield said. "And I am very proud of this program and what it's been able to do for the families here today."

While Friday's ceremony celebrated dozens of new homeowners, Land Bank officials say they ultimately hope fewer people need the program each year.

Daniels says a shrinking class of Buy Back participants would mean fewer residents are being affected by housing fraud, tax foreclosure and other challenges that can put homeownership at risk.

For Ford and the other 66 residents receiving deeds this year, however, Friday marked the end of a long journey — and the beginning of a new chapter as homeowners.