Long term planning for relocating to Detroit: please help.

**Zacha341** · June-23-12, 09:51 PM

Often a $500 house is that low for the worst of reasons! Not just a deal ala a steal. Price should not be a determining factor!

Originally Posted by sea

I don't expect to find a $500 house, I am willing to pay more and am not tied to any particular area right now. I just know a few neighborhoods that interest me so far. I just am looking for ballparks to start saving towards. I live a relatively simple lifestyle and am good at resource management for goal setting.

**DetroitPlanner** · June-24-12, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by ndavies

Detroit has the highest property and city income taxes in the state. It has the highest car insurance prices in the country.

Nice tool. Actually Ann Arbor hould have the highest taxes because crap homes there go for 4 to 5 times the cost of crap homes in Detroit with roughly the same millage rates.

Doesn't Phoenix have higher insurance rates? I know they6 are more car dependant and have a much higher theft as well as numbers of people driving uninsured cars.

**ndavies** · June-24-12, 10:20 AM

Ann Arbor's tax rates are 30% lower than Detroit's taxes are. Ann Arbors homestead rate is 45.88 mills. Detroits is 67.34 mills. The only thing you can compare is the tax rate. One of the things that drives down property values is High tax rates. Ann Arbor also has good city services for the taxes they pay and have reasonable hopes of their children going to college. These are also huge factors in the value of a home.

So yes, After you multiply in the value of the home, Ann Arbor resident pay higher taxes per home. The Ann Arbor residents are getting the value they expect out of the local government and are willing to pay much more for homes in those neighborhoods.

Detroit has the problem of absurdly high taxes for incredbly bad city services. It destroys Home values.

**sea** · June-24-12, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by ndavies

When purchasing your house, don't forget to include the property taxes, Detroit's 2.5% personal income tax, the extra utility taxes, and the incredibly high car and home owner insurance in the price of the home. This will help in deciding if you can afford to buy something.

I knew the taxes and insurance rates were high, but that you for the concrete information. This is really helpful.

**sea** · June-24-12, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by Shollin

I hope you understand what you are getting into. A lot of my family lives in Minneapolis and I go there once a year. The worst areas of Minneapolis are mild compared to Detroit. No matter where you are in the city, there will be property crime. The thieves are starting to target the better areas of the city. I read an article about Woodbridge on how there was this investor buying properties and fixing them up. In the same article, the neighbors were talking about how many break ins there are. Walking at night is also not a good idea. Minneapolis has a lot of parks and trails and has a lot more walkable areas than the city of Detroit. I highly suggest renting before buying. Selling a house in Detroit is no easy task.

I'm trying to understand what I may be getting into and definitely want to visit Detroit a few more times before making any concrete decisions. Minneapolis is super walkable and so is St Paul depending on what area you live in. There are lots of awesome things about the Twin Cities. I don't think I would expect to be able to sell a home I had purchased in Detroit. You are right, renting may be a more viable option initially.

**sea** · June-24-12, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by nain rouge

I have to agree with Shollin. My girlfriend's brother lives in St. Paul, and when I stayed there for a week last year, he warned me that he lived near a bad part of town. Being the kind of guy I am, that meant that I had to explore the area on foot to see just how "bad" it gets.

Let me tell you, compared to a bad part of Detroit, well... there is no comparison. The worst part of St. Paul reminded me of Mt. Clemens or Hazel Park, which are cities outside of Detroit's borders that don't have nearly the same problems. I went on to develop a similar impression of the bad part of Minneapolis later that week.

For various reasons, the twin cities just don't have the sense of economic hopelessness and despair that you see in pockets of Detroit. That said, I'm actually in the process of planning a move to Hamtramck. While I don't think you'd have worry much about your physical safety in Hamtramck, Midtown, and etc., theft/burglary is a serious issue that requires real awareness to prevent.

I don't think St. Paul has any truly "bad" areas. Minneapolis is/was a different story and I lived in a neighborhood with frequent drive-bys and carjackings with no problems. I did have my convertible top cut open with a knife for a handful of spare change one time. I don't think the Twin Cities are very dangerous and feel comfortable walking in a lot of areas by myself at night. However, I think Detroit is relatively less dangerous than Guatemala unless there are regular lynchings, dismemberments, kidnappings and the ability to put a hit out on someone for $30 that I am unaware of mixed with almost complete impunity. I would be concerned about my physical safety the most. Things can be replaced, but people can't.

**sea** · June-24-12, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by mikefmich

I'd also highly vote to rent a house.....no shortage there.......for 3-6 months so you can get a real feel for what everything could entail. Nothing like seeing everything up close and personal before you make the step to purchase.

Renting is definitely an option and completely reasonable.

**sea** · June-24-12, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by p1acebo

What an interesting hobby. Fun stuff.

it's pretty awesome and i have managed not to set myself on fire thus far.

Shollin · June-24-12, 10:57 AM

People got shot in Detroit over Kool Aid and another guy fired into a crowd because his girlfriend was disrespected. They carjacked a priest, killed a church security guard, and fired into a home killing a baby over a cellphone. There was also the old woman who had her house fire bombed by mistake.

**sea** · June-24-12, 10:59 AM

Thanks to everyone for their insight/comments. I'm gonna need more coffee before I can write anything coherent.

**sea** · June-24-12, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by Shollin

People got shot in Detroit over Kool Aid and another guy fired into a crowd because his girlfriend was disrespected. They carjacked a priest, killed a church security guard, and fired into a home killing a baby over a cellphone. There was also the old woman who had her house fire bombed by mistake.

I had heard about the Kool Aid one, but the rest are new. Are they gang related or just seemingly random violence?

Shollin · June-24-12, 11:04 AM

Just robberies gone bad. The fire bombing I'm not sure. Haven't heard much follow up on that one. Car jackings happen frequently in Detroit. I just read a story about a 10 year old committing a car jacking.