This article in today's Detroit News makes clear that Detroit's future is in the hands of people who have just thrown up their hands:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...text|FRONTPAGE

Bottom line: if you live in a house, don't take care of it, patch up the roof with a tarp, fix old cars in the driveway and don't pay the taxes for three years you wiil get asked PERSONALLY to pay $500 for the property and promise to start paying the property taxes.

Perhaps you will agree and come up with the $500 and make a lacklustre promise that you can't or won't keep - and get another three years for that $500.
Or perhaps you don't agree or you ask for a "payment plan" and don't meet the terms. You absolutely know that County and City officials that valued your house at $500 won't go after you and evict you. After all, it would cost more than that to hire a bail bondsman and get the court orders.

So you might as well start stealing utilities [[if you already aren't) because, after all, why pay more for utilities than you would p[ay for the house and property itself? And, hey! If you run it down far enough, you can always move on and squat another property and repeat the scam.

And if you are a slumlord - you find some way to get around this [[nobody's really watching or caring after all) and you get to keep your property for $500 and get rent too!