OMG! They're giving away Detroit homes!!!!

[Orchidflower]

I read on US Housing Predictor that Detroit's average home for sale today was $18,000. Naturally, I felt this had to be a typo, so I went to Craigslist, put in the boundaries of homes for $4,000 to $30,000 in the Detroit, Michigan, area and came back with pages and pages of homes for sale. Boy! for a STEAL in homes, go North, young man, go North! Just FYI for the bargain shoppers out there.
To check out the address: type the address in the computer search bar, hit enter and the address with zip code should come up on the screen.
To check out the zip code: go to zipskinny.com, put in the zip code and check it out.
classifieds - craigslist

Granted, this ain't the Ritz, but...geesh... Not the most educated neighbors, but looks safe enough from the numbers:
http://detroit.craigslist.org/reb/1093123886.html

 

[crazy connie]

Do a check on the crime stats by zip before purchasing anything. I would not move to Detroit or many of it's burbs anymore. I grew up a short drive from there and used to go to the city to shop, party and visit friends. Not anymore. Perhaps I am just a Nervous Nellie but of the states 12+% unemploymebnt rate, my guess is over 25% in Detroit alone. I still remember being at my Aunt & Uncles home during the 68 riots and hearing the shooting going on at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon.

 

[ziggy29]

In addition to the crime and unemployment, most of these "almost free" homes are way in arrears in property taxes and the buyers have to make that up in order to close.

 

[haha]

I read on US Housing Predictor that Detroit's average home for sale today was $18,000. Naturally, I felt this had to be a typo, so I went to Craigslist, put in the boundaries of homes for $4,000 to $30,000 in the Detroit, Michigan, area and came back with pages and pages of homes for sale. Boy! for a STEAL in homes, go North, young man, go North! Just FYI for the bargain shoppers out there.
To check out the address: type the address in the computer search bar, hit enter and the address with zip code should come up on the screen.
To check out the zip code: go to zipskinny.com, put in the zip code and check it out.
classifieds - craigslist

Granted, this ain't the Ritz, but...geesh... Not the most educated neighbors, but looks safe enough from the numbers:
SUPER 2 BDRM ***********

Hey, Detroit is a college town too!

A. Wayne State University - wayne.edu - (313) 577-4675 - 5 reviews

B. Marygrove College - www.marygrove.edu - (313) 927-1200 - 1 review

C. Wayne County Community College - www.wcccd.edu - (313) 496-2758 - More

E. Center For Creative Studies - www.collegeforcreativestudies.edu - (313) 664-7400 - 1 review

G. University of Detroit Mercy - www.udmercy.edu - (313) 993-1000 - 1 review

 

[harley]

As I remember, last month Detroit's average home sale price was $7500.00. That means they have had a 240% increase in the past month. The housing crisis is over! Buy now before you are priced out of the market!

 

[W2R]

Hey, there are thousands of homes for those prices here in New Orleans, too. Of course, they have warped structural timbers from Katrina and mold that is feet thick - - if you want it to be gutted and mold-remediated, it will cost a little more.

You get what you pay for. I doubt I would survive very long in some neighborhoods in Detroit on a Saturday night.

 

[Orchidflower]

Believe it or not, I have been coordinating the zip codes on zipskinny.com, and the areas I am checking in are suitable for living in (low crime stats and all). You should look as you might be surprised.
Of course, I just looked at the national crime stats and Detroit, itself, is #3 for crime; but the areas I am looking in only are historically okay.
And, no, I didn't know the houses were going for $7,500...now it's $18K that I am reading. And there aren't all that many at that price. Most are $24K and up that are decent in decent, safe areas. Not that that's all that much considering.
I've been attempting to pull the cities with the highest foreclosure rate for 2009, but seems that is a little hard to find.

 

[W2R]

Making things even more difficult, is the problem of assessing what the real crime rate is for a given area if one is unfamiliar with the area. The statistics that we get are on how many crimes are reported to the FBI, and not necessarily how many occurred. I am no expert on this, but my hazy understanding is that some law enforcement agencies under-report crimes or report them as lesser crimes because that way they can report a better rate of solving major crimes. And then in some areas the public doesn't report as many crimes to the police to begin with. Or maybe I don't fully understand all the reasons why some crimes are not reported. But anyway, as I understand it, in some areas almost every single crime that occurs is reported, and not so in others.

 

[ziggy29]

I am no expert on this, but my hazy understanding is that some law enforcement agencies under-report crimes or report them as lesser crimes because that way they can report a better rate of solving major crimes. And then in some areas the public doesn't report as many crimes to the police to begin with. Or maybe I don't fully understand all the reasons why some crimes are not reported. But anyway, as I understand it, in some areas almost every single crime that occurs is reported, and not so in others.

Many of the crimes in these areas are related to drugs and sometimes even prostitution. And when the victims themselves could be arrested for their own illegal activities, they just keep quiet and don't report anything. Some people believe that's why prostitutes are such popular targets for criminal violence -- they're less likely to report it.

 

[spncity]

Please share how to look up crime stats for an area - and how to drill down if possible to see the details of crimes.

Thanks.

 

[Orchidflower]

It's been fun surfing around Michigan for information (for no other reason than I have the time to waste). Amazingly, there are a number of retirement areas in Michigan. Who retires in Michigan? I guess alot of people.
It is a beautiful State in summer as we used to take short trips there in summer as a kid--where you could actually see your feet in the sand at the bottom of the lakes there! Clean and clear!
The NW corner of the State is ski country. Did you know that? Lots there.
I wish we had a Detroit or Michigan resident on this board to give us some straight poop on their State.

 

[RonBoyd]

There was, on one of the network evening news programs, several weeks ago a segment on this. There were two people who purchased $150k houses for around $50. A bunch of others who made out almost as well. I would suspect, if you seen it on the "news," that it is too late to cash in now but who knows -- remember the Old West Gold Rushes.

 

[kowski]

I remember being in Detroit after a concert, I got turned around and ended up in a neighborhood or the hood. I stopped at a trafic light and no one was around. A police care came up along side of us and looked at me and my wife in the care and waved us through the red light. Sort of like don't be silly and stop here man. ha ha

 

[FinanceDude]

I remember being in Detroit after a concert, I got turned around and ended up in a neighborhood or the hood. I stopped at a trafic light and no one was around. A police care came up along side of us and looked at me and my wife in the care and waved us through the red light. Sort of like don't be silly and stop here man. ha ha

That happened to me in San Diego. A friend and I were driving a Corolla rental when we got lost, and ended up in a BAD part of town. A cop car put his lights on behind us and we pulled over. The cop came up to the car and asked if we were lost. He told us to follow his car and stay close to him, and he would get us back to where we were going.

We got back to the Highway, and we knew where to go. When I told the friends I was staying with where we were, they turned white as a sheet and mumbled something about a "War Zone"........

 

[tryan]

No enough can be said about buying at the BOTTOM ... Detroit is there. Nobody's gonna PAY you to take the home!

 

[Orchidflower]

$50 for a home or $50K? $50...gasp!
I don't think Detroit has bottomed yet even. Take a look at this:
Worst Housing Markets in 2009
From this it looks as if Detroit is to go down another 24%!!! The worst in the nation in 2009. What is predicted to happen in 2010 then? Pretty soon Detroit will be paying people to take a house there.

Since I have no interest in cars whatsoever (I hate to sound like a typical woman, but there you have it...), so does anyone here know the scoop on what will happen to the auto industry in Detroit? Is the city EVER going to rise again or is the area going to be like the 'Ole South and take 150 years to finally turn around?

 

[harley]

From this it looks as if Detroit is to go down another 24%!!! The worst in the nation in 2009. What is predicted to happen in 2010 then? Pretty soon Detroit will be paying people to take a house there.

Since I have no interest in cars whatsoever (I hate to sound like a typical woman, but there you have it...), so does anyone here know the scoop on what will happen to the auto industry in Detroit? Is the city EVER going to rise again or is the area going to be like the 'Ole South and take 150 years to finally turn around?

24% from 18K is only $4.5K more down. Not too worrying.

Houston went down the tubes big time in the 80s. I don't remember the details (being an East Coaster), but my impression was they were giving away skyscrapers for less than a condo in Arlington. But housing is pretty healthy there now, from what I understand. If you're willing to hold for 20 years, I suspect you'll do quite well. I doubt I'd live there all that time, but owning there might not be too bad.

 

[haha]

24% from 18K is only $4.5K more down. Not too worrying.

Houston went down the tubes big time in the 80s. I don't remember the details (being an East Coaster), but my impression was they were giving away skyscrapers for less than a condo in Arlington. But housing is pretty healthy there now, from what I understand. If you're willing to hold for 20 years, I suspect you'll do quite well. I doubt I'd live there all that time, but owning there might not be too bad.

I believe in bottom fishing, but Houston in the 1980s was very different from Detroit now. The oil industry and Texas banking was falling apart. But it couldn't go away, could it? Not until the last barrel is sucked out of some shale bed somewhere.

Not so Detroit. If the classical northern auto industry disappeared tomorrow, other than transitional issues it wouldn't be missed except by its workers, dealers, etc.

Also, Houston was and is a famously open city where business is in charge. Detroit is a typical northern urban mess, with no locomotive to pull its many cars loaded with dead weight.


Ha

 

[bbbamI]

I couldn't live in Detroit....I'd freeze my tah tahs off....

 

[HFWR]

OMG! They're giving away Detroit homes!!!!

I was sitting in my basement.
I just rolled myself a taste
Of something green and gold and glorious
To get me through the day.
Then my friend yelled through the transom
"Grab your coat and get your hat son,
There's a nut down on the corner,
Givin' dollar bills away"
But I laid around a bit
Then I had another hit.
Then I rolled myself a bomber.
Then I thought about my mama.
Then I fooled around, played around
jacked around a while and then
I got stoned and I missed it.
I got stoned and I missed it.
I got stoned and it rolled right by.
I got stoned and I missed it.
I got stoned and I missed it.
I got stoned... oh me... oh my.

Shel Silverstein

 

[Orchidflower]

Houston went down around 26% for a couple years (I lived thru that) and then sloooooowly (like 20 years) it went back.
If a house now is $18K in Detroit and the house goes down another $4.5 = $13.5 for a house? Good golly, man, they are practically free!

Does anyone have any idea what the government will do if Detroit loses that many more people? I mean, they surely wouldn't just let the city sit there with it's boarded up windows would they? Surely, something has to be done with the city such as bringing in a new manufacturing plant or even using the land for government buildings. I just cannot fathom allowing a city to decay like that--I mean, it's a big plot of land Detroit is.
What happens in situations like Detroit has now with everything dead or dying?

I have old friends who live in various parts of Michigan, and the rest of the State seems pretty darn healthy, tho.

 

[W2R]

Does anyone have any idea what the government will do if Detroit loses that many more people? I mean, they surely wouldn't just let the city sit there with it's boarded up windows would they?

What, you mean like New Orleans has been for the past three and a half years? Nahhhh... they'd never just let a city sit there, half empty, with boarded up windows...

 

[Orchidflower]

Looks like from 1990 to projected 2030, Detroit will have lost almost 21% of the population. I have been tuning out when they spoke about Detroit and the big automobile companies going down, but I see how alarming it is now. Now I'll be paying more attention.http://library.semcog.org/InmagicGenie/DocumentFolder/2035SEMCOGForecast.pdf (Page 15 has the information)

As I have repeatedly said, Want2retire, New Orleans was my favorite city in America, and, if it hadn't been destroyed, I would have moved there for some time even with all the crime and filth. I lived there a short time, and just loved the city...warts and all. And, yes, there's little excuse for what they have allowed to happen to New Orleans. I'm with you there....and now they seem to be doing the same with Detroit. This is really...sadder than sad...and alarming.

 

[travelover]

Detroit was the fourth largest city in the US with 2 million people in 1950. Now it is around 850,000 or so, 80+ percent black, per capita income around $15,000.

 

[SlowTwitcher]

I currently live in suburb of Detroit, have lived in Detroit, went to University in Detroit for 7 years, and have worked in Detroit. I truly see no hope for the city. I wouldn't accept a house there for free. Industry never branched out from automotive. No mass transit (squashed by BIG 3); riducously corrupt politicians; vacant automotive plants; consistenly near the worst in murders; poorly educated with college grad leaving the state at an alarming rate (no jobs); homes in my area have gone from $320,000 to $188,000, about 40%. With automotive white collar workers losing their jobs and leaving the state in addition to blue collar workers losing their $30/hr jobs to take $12/hr jobs the picture is bleak.

I am no expert on anything but I can certainly give you firsthand accounts as to what is going on here. My Dad lived through the 70's here and says the sentiment now is much worse. Of course in the 70's we did not have cable TV bills, cellphone bills, $2 H2O and coffee habits, 2500 sq. ft. homes, eat out more than a few times a YEAR, 2.5 vehicles per household, daycare bills...etc. I think we are headed back in many ways to these simpler times - and for the most part I welcome it. Then again, people never seem to learn. I'm very grateful for my job, my health, and for the great advice Ive received on this blog over the years.