The "Ghost Ticket" Phenomenon
Category: Detroit Dictionary
Definition: A ticket that results in a Default Judgment without the owner ever physically receiving the Civil Infraction Notice.
It is the most frustrating moment in Detroit real estate: You are at the closing table, ready to sell your flip. The title agent slides a paper across the desk. "There is a $3,500 lien for unpaid blight judgments."
You swear you never got a ticket. You checked the mail every week. How did this happen?
Anatomy of a Ghost Ticket
- The Drop: The inspector issues a ticket for "Bulk Waste" in the alley.
- The Service: They tape the ticket to the front door of the vacant house (which you aren't visiting daily). They mail a copy to the address on the tax roll (which might be the house itself if you haven't updated your PTA).
- The Wind: The wind blows the ticket off the door.
- The Silence: You don't get the mail. You don't see the door tag.
- The Default: 14 days later, the hearing happens without you. You are found guilty + 10% penalty.
- The Wait: The City doesn't call you. They just record the debt. It sits there, accruing interest, waiting for you to try to sell the house.
The Only Defense is Digital
You cannot rely on paper in a digital enforcement system. A "Ghost Ticket" is not invisible to the database. It is there, in the cloud, the second it is issued.
Detroit Compliance makes Ghost Tickets visible. We turn "unknown liabilities" into "manageable notifications."