What is Detroit Property Passport?+
It's an administrative records review for Detroit rental property owners. We check the public and City records tied to your property — ownership, tax, and compliance — and give you back a single, plain-language report showing what's in good standing and what needs attention.
I already have a property manager. Why do I need this too?+
A property manager handles the day-to-day of your property — tenants, maintenance, rent collection. Property Passport handles something different: the ownership, tax, and City compliance paperwork that sits behind the property itself, which most property management agreements don't cover and most managers aren't set up to check.
Why can't I just check this myself?+
You can — the underlying records are public. The reason most owners don't is that the relevant information is spread across several separate County and City systems, uses its own terminology, and doesn't tell you what's actually missing until you know what to look for. We do that work once, in one place, so you don't have to learn five different portals.
What's included in the $149 initial review?+
A full first-time review across every area we track for your property — ownership and transfer records, PTA status, taxable value uncapping, Assessor and mailing records, BSEED registration, COC status, tax assessment and appeal opportunities, DWSD setup, and DTE setup — delivered as a single Property Passport report with clear statuses and next steps.
What's included in the $49/year renewal?+
An annual refresh of that same review, so any changes since your last Property Passport — a lapsed COC, a missed renewal, a changed assessment — get caught rather than sitting unnoticed for another year.
What if nothing's wrong with my property?+
Then your Property Passport shows Good across the board, and that itself is useful — you now have a dated record that the property was actually checked, not just assumed to be fine.
Why do you ask about LLC transfers and ownership changes?+
Moving a property into or out of an LLC, or any change in ownership, can trigger PTA filing requirements and taxable value uncapping. If that step gets missed, it can lead to a larger tax bill later. We ask so we can check whether it was handled correctly.
What is a PTA?+
A Property Transfer Affidavit (PTA) is a form Michigan requires to be filed with the local Assessor whenever a property changes ownership. It's what triggers the Assessor to update taxable value to reflect the sale.
Can you guarantee I'll qualify for an uncapping exemption?+
No. We can tell you what the records show and flag when an exemption may apply based on the situation you've described, but qualification is a legal and factual determination made by the Assessor's office, not by us — we'd recommend confirming with a qualified professional for anything exemption-specific.
Can you lower my taxes?+
We don't file appeals or negotiate with the Assessor on your behalf as part of the standard review. What we do is tell you when your assessment looks out of line with comparable sales, so you know an appeal may be worth pursuing — and if you'd like help preparing that documentation, that's available as an add-on.
Does the purchase price determine my taxable value?+
Not directly and not automatically. A sale can trigger uncapping, which moves taxable value toward the state equalized value, but the exact number is set by the Assessor's office following Michigan's assessment rules — it isn't simply your purchase price.
Does a change in ownership cancel my Certificate of Compliance?+
A COC is tied to the property and its rental registration, and an ownership change can affect its status depending on the circumstances. We check this specifically so you're not caught by a COC issue you didn't know existed.
Why do you check BSEED registration?+
Detroit requires rental properties to be registered with BSEED. An unregistered or lapsed rental registration can lead to fines and can also affect your Certificate of Compliance, so it's one of the first things we check.
Why do you check my mailing address on file?+
If the Assessor's records still show a prior owner's or agent's mailing address, tax and compliance notices can go to the wrong place — which means you can miss a deadline without ever knowing it was coming.
Why are DWSD and DTE included? Those aren't tax or legal issues.+
They're not, but an incorrectly set up water or utility account for a rental property is a common, easy-to-miss source of billing and liability confusion for owners — so we include a basic setup check as part of the overall picture.
Do I need to upload my deed?+
It's optional but helpful. A copy of your deed lets us confirm ownership details directly against what public records show, which can speed up the review and improve accuracy — but you can complete intake without it.
Where are my uploaded documents stored?+
We don't keep your uploaded documents by default. When you upload a document (such as a deed), our team reviews it, records the specific property-related details needed for your Property Passport, and then deletes the original file once that review is complete. We avoid retaining sensitive personal identifiers that aren't needed for the review, such as a Social Security number or full bank account number, and we don't keep full copies of your documents on an ongoing basis.
Where is my information stored?+
Detroit Property Passport uses secure cloud-based systems to operate the service and maintain your account, property information, reports, and documents you choose to provide. We only collect information reasonably necessary to provide and maintain your Property Passport. Payment information is processed through our payment provider. Detroit Property Passport does not store your full credit-card number or security code. Access to property and account information is restricted to the customer and authorized Detroit Property Passport personnel as needed to provide the service. For additional details about how information is collected, used, stored, and protected, please review our Privacy Policy.
Will you ever ask for my Social Security number?+
No. Detroit Property Passport does not need your Social Security number to review your property, and we will not ask you to provide it. Please do not upload documents containing Social Security numbers, full bank-account numbers, or other highly sensitive personal information unless specifically requested for a legitimate reason. If an uploaded document contains sensitive information that is not needed for the Property Passport review, our goal is to avoid retaining that information and to keep only the property-related information necessary to provide the service.
What do the three statuses — Good, Needs Verification, Action Required — actually mean?+
Good means the records we checked look correct and current. Needs Verification means something doesn't fully line up, or public records don't give us enough to confirm it either way. Action Required means we found something that most likely needs to be fixed or filed, and we'll tell you what and why.
Does "Good" mean my property is legally certified compliant?+
No. "Good" reflects what the records we reviewed show as of the date of your Property Passport — it's our assessment based on available records, not a legal certification of compliance by any government body.
What happens if you find a problem?+
We explain what we found, why it matters, and what the typical next step looks like. From there, it's entirely your call whether to handle it yourself or have us help — see "Found a problem? We may be able to help fix it" above.
Are you affiliated with the City of Detroit or Wayne County?+
No. Detroit Property Passport is an independent, privately operated service. We review public and City records, but we are not a City of Detroit, Wayne County, or other government agency, department, or office, and we don't speak on their behalf.
Are you a law firm or tax advisor?+
No. We're an administrative records review and support service. We are not a law firm, CPA, title company, or property manager, and nothing we provide is legal, tax, accounting, or title advice. For anything that requires professional judgment specific to your situation, we recommend working with a licensed attorney, accountant, or title professional.
Do you guarantee you'll find every issue?+
No. We review the records that are available to us — public records, City systems, and what you tell us — as thoroughly as we can, but records can be incomplete, delayed, or in error, and we can't guarantee that every possible issue will be caught.
How much does it cost?+
$149 for the initial Property Passport on a property, then $49 per property per year to keep it current. Any add-on help fixing something we find is quoted and agreed with you separately before that work begins.
Who is this for?+
Detroit rental property investors and owners — whether you hold one property or several — who want a clear, plain-language read on the ownership, tax, and compliance records tied to their property without having to track down and interpret each piece themselves.