Buying an ultracheap house...for poor creatives

[marienbad]

I'm a new college graduate from Davis, California who's gone through hell for 6 months and am in desperate need of some tangible security and a place to expend my creative energy. I joined this forum solely to ask the beginner's questions about buying an "ultracheap" house in detroit; as awful as it is, I only found out within the last week about the ongoing prevalence of house vacancies in detroit and the "blank slate" atmosphere that's beginning to draw creative people in droves. I'm highly educated and I spent the last year of my time at university designing communitarian systems for repurposing stagnant suburbs on the ultra-cheap, and I hope that settling in detroit might put me at the location of a like-minded community. I hope that even if I do not find answers to the below questions, this forum will serve to connect me with resources that can facilitate my possible entrance into detroit.


But before I get my hopes up, I want to try to answer the most basic question: can I buy a house in detroit?


Here's my questions in rough order of priority:
1. How do I find out what repairs are necessary to make a particular ultracheap house in detroit legal to inhabit? Is there a website or government office that can provide a list, and if so how accurate should I expect it to be? Is there a high likelihood of finding very costly "surprises" after buying?
2. How do I find out what repairs I would be legally obligated to perform after buying the property even if I just give up and leave without inhabiting or renting it?
3. What risk is there of me ruining my credit score or going to jail due to buying an ultracheap house in detroit and being unable to fulfill the liabilities for repairs, etc?
4. Where do I find the property taxes for a particular street address? Is the data always up-to-date, or might the property taxes change drastically?
5. Where can I find some real-life examples of poor people like me who have bought ultracheap detroit houses, how much money they have had to put into the house, and what hurdles they have had to clear throughout the process of buying and owning it? Is there an online community of these people?
6. How necessary is it for me to visit detroit in-person to in order to investigate an ultracheap house that is listed for sale on the internet?
7. Is ebay the best bet for ultracheap detroit houses, or something else?

[canuck]

Try to contact Gina Reichert and Mitch Cope among others featured in this video. They have helped a number of artists get a house in the city.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...ON03/106050313

Hope this helps, plenty of opportunities there.

[Richard]

I'm a new college graduate from Davis, California who's gone through hell for 6 months and am in desperate need of some tangible security and a place to expend my creative energy. I joined this forum solely to ask the beginner's questions about buying an "ultracheap" house in detroit; as awful as it is, I only found out within the last week about the ongoing prevalence of house vacancies in detroit and the "blank slate" atmosphere that's beginning to draw creative people in droves. I'm highly educated and I spent the last year of my time at university designing communitarian systems for repurposing stagnant suburbs on the ultra-cheap, and I hope that settling in detroit might put me at the location of a like-minded community. I hope that even if I do not find answers to the below questions, this forum will serve to connect me with resources that can facilitate my possible entrance into detroit.


But before I get my hopes up, I want to try to answer the most basic question: can I buy a house in detroit?


Here's my questions in rough order of priority:
1. How do I find out what repairs are necessary to make a particular ultracheap house in detroit legal to inhabit? Is there a website or government office that can provide a list, and if so how accurate should I expect it to be? Is there a high likelihood of finding very costly "surprises" after buying?
2. How do I find out what repairs I would be legally obligated to perform after buying the property even if I just give up and leave without inhabiting or renting it?
3. What risk is there of me ruining my credit score or going to jail due to buying an ultracheap house in detroit and being unable to fulfill the liabilities for repairs, etc?
4. Where do I find the property taxes for a particular street address? Is the data always up-to-date, or might the property taxes change drastically?
5. Where can I find some real-life examples of poor people like me who have bought ultracheap detroit houses, how much money they have had to put into the house, and what hurdles they have had to clear throughout the process of buying and owning it? Is there an online community of these people?
6. How necessary is it for me to visit detroit in-person to in order to investigate an ultracheap house that is listed for sale on the internet?
7. Is ebay the best bet for ultracheap detroit houses, or something else?

I would say forget about everything else and make number 6 your only priority,because if you think your life was hell before, it most likely was a walk in the park compared to moving across country to an unknown city unprepared, you are setting yourself up for failure in the worst way.

You cannot base it on the properties are cheap as the taxes are not in most cases if you have the budget that you are insinuating compare it to moving to the deep east L.A.,if you have no building skills you need to have a large sum set aside for contractors ,at least $20k to at the very minimum basic bath,kitchen ,sleeping in safety,you can get by with a hot plate and using the tub for a kitchen sink ,been there done that and it is not uncommon in the realm of buying fixer uppers.

You are going to at least need $5k just for your move and the first couple of month's of survival and nothing personal but your name sounds like a woman,and the city you are going to is nothing like where you are now so your safety would or could be an issue,I hope you do not take that in the wrong way.

At the very minimum look maybe on Craigslist or maybe someone on this site can help you find a basic room rental so you can learn about what you are up against before you take that plunge,Then if you decide to bail you have not lost anything and you have not made the city even worse by buying something and then walking away adding more to something the city really does not need.

You really do not need to go to Detroit to find poor people like you, if you open your eyes and see the world they are all around you,poor is not always necessarily a judgmental meaning of character,But not to be rude you really do not sound that poor when you are more concerned about your credit rating then to bail and leave the city with the remains,their are also those that may or may not be poor that will be stuck with the mess left behind and that would not be fair to them.

[serpico]

Get your CPL [[concealed pistol license) asap.... Wayne county is about 4 months behind currently. I would recommend River Rouge instead of Detroit proper. River Rouge is cheaper than Detroit but has awesome police and fire departments. Trash pickup is the best of any city. Bulk pickup and yard waste pickups year round too. Taxes are high but nothing like Detroit.

[Hamtragedy]

You need to come to Hamtramck, which is an inburb. Rent is cheap. Dirt cheap. So are the drinks and social scene. Car not required. Properties adjacent to Hamtramck on the Detroit side are ultracheap, and not all are as hit by the scrappers as one would be led to believe. There is already an existing and growing community of people such as yourself, albeit small, but with somewhat of a long reach. And locals who will welcome you.

[gameguy56]

Hamtramck is a good idea. Also look into Southwest Detroit [[Corktown area) which is more intact and liveable.

[Richard]

Hamtramck is a good idea. Also look into Southwest Detroit [[Corktown area) which is more intact and liveable.

You can get a $500 dollar house in Corktown? Where and who would I send the money to.

Ops key words are poor and Ultra-cheap. But I guess poor is state of mind one could have 5 million dollars and consider them selves poor.Or one can have $500 dollars and consider themselves rich.

[poobert]

Welcome! Housing is super cheap in Detroit, but not as much as the internet would lead you to believe. First of all, yes, you absolutely must come see the property, and the neighborhood [[or lack thereof).

Yes, it is cheap to live here, because it generally sucks in endless ways, but you're either going to have to:
buy a really cheap property [[for, say, a couple grand) and sink 10 - 20k into it to make it livable
or
buy a move-in-condition property in a marginal neighborhood for 10k - 20k. More livable neighborhoods count on 25 - 45k.

So, either way, there usually isn't such a thing as a free lunch. I do have some very handy friends with very handy local connections who bought cheap houses but made it a labor of love to bring them back to life, but that can take a very long, long time.

Hamtramck is also a good option as Hamtragedy said. Make no mistake, it is no suburb. It is also, while very working class, quite charming in its own sort of way.

Aside from the obvious crime problems, the upshot of Detroit, that I have found, is that all sorts and conditions of men are welcome, within reason. Everyone left in this city is fucking crazy, present company included, so the more the merrier.

[DetroitPlanner]

Most cheap homes in Detroit are cheap for a reason. Most have at least two of the following issues.

- Stripped of anything useable. This includes furnaces, water tanks, plumbing, wiring and windows.

- Neighborhood is a high crime area.

- Home is old and falling apart. Most likely will need major structural work including foundation or roof repairs.

- Poor insulation with little you can do to increase the R value. Keep in mind that energy costs are very high here for 4 months a year.

However, next to CA, just about anything in the Midwest is affordable. The first thing you need to do is secure employment here. Things are better here than they were a few years ago, but we still have an unemployment level higher than the national average. Once you secure a place of employment you should then look for a place where you can have minimal commuting costs, be that a short distance so you can walk, bike, or chain your driving trip; carpool, or take transit.

Many employers have programs that will help make your house payments if you want to live within certain geographic areas. These change over time but are worth looking into. Campanies that do or have offered this include Henry Ford Hospital, Quicken, and Wayne State University. There are/were more, but those are the ones that come to mind right now.

[Zacha341]

Well stated. If you don't know what you're doing you'll end up in a ghetto-hood area [[yep I said it - I see little need to be politically correct) and preyed upon with impunity! Location is MOST crucial for anyone considering Detroit.

Indeed the cheap can come out VERY expensive.

And the winter utilities are high also here in Michigan. Today is a grand example... what is the temperature? 2 degrees warm. Great!

Most cheap homes in Detroit are cheap for a reason. Most have at least two of the following issues.

- Stripped of anything useable. This includes furnaces, water tanks, plumbing, wiring and windows.

- Neighborhood is a high crime area.

[swingline]

OP, you have good questions. Detroit can never have too many creatives. You should carve out enough time for a week long stay. Stay at Hostel Detroit. Start networking at some galleries, e.g., http://www.555arts.org/ and you will find plenty of knowledgeable folks to give you a tour and maybe find you a place to rent. It will take time to find a suitable place to buy. Welcome and good luck.

[kenp]

Good luck with your plans. I agree with Richard, you need to visit and do a lot of research. Use this forum to find some friends or people that you can trust that will help you. There are a lot of good people here that would help.
Be very carefull and good luck.

[Bham1982]

You can get a $500 dollar house in Corktown? Where and who would I send the money to.

Well if it's a $500 house, he won't be getting it anywhere less than awful. Even the most gang-infested parts of SW don't have $500 homes in move-in condition. I assume Hamtramck is priced the same or a little higher than SW.

[4V4DMD]

Good luck in your search. I would recommend visiting and getting some insight from locals on the neighborhoods as well as the feel of the town. Its a soulful place so you may like that but its also very different and edgy. I would second looking at Hamtramck which is a bit more stable, but still susceptible to crime like anywhere else. The Detroit spots that are slowly turning around have less and less deals. If you're looking for a liveable house in a decent neighborhood in Detroit look to spend at least $8K-$15K. Unless you're an incredible sleuth.

[ArmDetroit]

I would recommend River Rouge instead of Detroit proper.

Is this a joke?

[Bham1982]

River Rouge and Ecorse are so incredibly polluted, I would never live there.

Same goes for adjacent areas of SW Detroit [[Springwells area) where you can taste the particulates from the refinery.

[unrealdetroit]

As mentioned, I would check out the area north of Hamtramck in Detroit. The neighborhood has several names, including Banglatown, NoHam and the Power House Project neighborhood, the latter which is the name of the organization working to restore houses and bring artists to the area. You might have heard about the area in the New York Times, about 100 dollar houses. Although to buy a house will set you back at least 500, and let's just say it will be a real fixer-uper.

The artists are centered on the block Moran Street between Lawley and Davison, and last summer they built a skatepark around the corner on Davison and Kingler. http://www.juxtapoz.com/Features/jux...s-1-a-2?catid=

Similar efforts are taking place nearby with Popp's Packing [[near Carpenter west of Jos Campau).

[DetroitPlanner]

River Rouge and Ecorse are so incredibly polluted, I would never live there.

Not compared to Bejing or Southern CA it ain't.

[JAYCR]

Welcome! Housing is super cheap in Detroit, but not as much as the internet would lead you to believe. First of all, yes, you absolutely must come see the property, and the neighborhood [[or lack thereof).

Yes, it is cheap to live here, because it generally sucks in endless ways, but you're either going to have to:
buy a really cheap property [[for, say, a couple grand) and sink 10 - 20k into it to make it livable
or
buy a move-in-condition property in a marginal neighborhood for 10k - 20k. More livable neighborhoods count on 25 - 45k.

So, either way, there usually isn't such a thing as a free lunch. I do have some very handy friends with very handy local connections who bought cheap houses but made it a labor of love to bring them back to life, but that can take a very long, long time.

Hamtramck is also a good option as Hamtragedy said. Make no mistake, it is no suburb. It is also, while very working class, quite charming in its own sort of way.

Aside from the obvious crime problems, the upshot of Detroit, that I have found, is that all sorts and conditions of men are welcome, within reason. Everyone left in this city is fucking crazy, present company included, so the more the merrier.

My wife and i made the move here six weeks ago from Toronto. We visited at least a dozen times before making our decision, one that was based not simply on the value of property, but on many more intangible aspects that we discovered such as the industriousness, pride and warmth of the citizens and big-city living for a reasonable cost.

We have a very talented, thorough and thoughtful real estate agent who has become a good friend and ally in the city, showing us over 70 houses. Of those we have found maybe 5 that were worth looking into further. We looked in Corktown, Hamtramck, West Village, Mexicantown, Hubbard-Richard, Springwells and Michigan-Martin.

What was interesting about them was that whomever was selling had little to no idea of the condition of the house, so price here doesn't always coincide with the actual value of the home. 50% of the homes were entirely without either one of electrical, plumbing or heating sources and the prices do not reflect this. Others, as previous posters have alluded to, are in areas where you can't even walk to buy cigarettes or milk and even if you could it would be inadvisable.

We have found a decent place in Mexicantown in a great community for a reasonable price. It needs a new roof, which will be 10 grand, and probably another 2 or 3 grand right off the jump just cleaning the place up. That's providing it passes an inspection by a third-party.

Anything on E-bay or Craigslist is guaranteed to be garbage and they probably won't even let you look at it before you commit. I've seen ads on these, gone to look at places in person and realized a very different property than advertised.
In addition, many of the young folks moving here are are upper-middle-class kids with very deep pockets. Sure, they are buying a place for 500 bucks, but spending big $$ making it livable.
I would highly advise making a trip here if you are indeed serious. It's a fascinating city with great people trying to make good things happen but it's also a tough town, not for the feint of heart..

[Bham1982]

We have found a decent place in Mexicantown in a great community for a reasonable price. It needs a new roof, which will be 10 grand, and probably another 2 or 3 grand right off the jump just cleaning the place up.

Homes in Mexicantown [[I assume you mean real Mexicantown, down Vernor and Springwells, not Bagley near Corktown) don't even sell for 15 grand.

May I ask how you're putting 15 grand into a house that couldn't sell for that price? Is it more a labor of love than an investment?

Also, who are the "upper middle class kids with deep pockets" moving into Mexicantown? If you know of any, I have some homes that family friends are looking to unload, and their homes appear to be close to worthless.

[JAYCR]

Homes in Mexicantown [[I assume you mean real Mexicantown, down Vernor and Springwells, not Bagley near Corktown) don't even sell for 15 grand.

May I ask how you're putting 15 grand into a house that couldn't sell for that price? Is it more a labor of love than an investment?

Also, who are the "upper middle class kids with deep pockets" moving into Mexicantown? If you know of any, I have some homes that family friends are looking to unload, and their homes appear to be close to worthless.

It's kind of in between those two locales. We're putting the money in to have a nice place to live! What a concept, eh? Perhaps rent out the extra apt to someone responsible and in need of good landlords. It will be a labour of love indeed, but also an investment. Not an amazing, life-altering investment, but an investment nevertheless.

And I didn't mean in Mexicantown per se, i just have observed this sort of thing minimally in some areas of town. More like people performing an experiment rather than making an investment in neighbourhoods and sticking around for a while..

[4V4DMD]

May I ask how you're putting 15 grand into a house that couldn't sell for that price? Is it more a labor of love than an investment?

I know know upper middle class kids moving to that area. I bet decent homes East of Clark Park would sell for $20K.

Congrats JAYCR on the move. I just bought in West Village. We're looking at a lot in repairs as well. Compared to paying $800rent downtown. No problemo. I trust we'll break even at the least.

[JAYCR]

I know know upper middle class kids moving to that area. I bet decent homes East of Clark Park would sell for $20K.

Congrats JAYCR on the move. I just bought in West Village. We're looking at a lot in repairs as well. Compared to paying $800rent downtown. No problemo. I trust we'll break even at the least.

Seriously. And thanks!

[Bham1982]

And I didn't mean in Mexicantown per se, i just have observed this sort of thing minimally in some areas of town. More like people performing an experiment rather than making an investment in neighbourhoods and sticking around for a while..

Good luck, and I hope there are many more like you.

The Mexicans I know in SW are generally looking to get out, because the rental income has dried up [[undocumented immigration, which supplies new tenants, has slowed to a trickle) and the neighborhood has deteriorated.

Also, Mexicans are doing better than before, and now have options in the suburbs. They're moving to Lincoln Park, Taylor, Madison Heights, and a few other inexpensive inner suburbs. Hopefully there will be new blood in SW.

[JAYCR]

Good luck, and I hope there are many more like you.

The Mexicans I know in SW are generally looking to get out, because the rental income has dried up [[undocumented immigration, which supplies new tenants, has slowed to a trickle) and the neighborhood has deteriorated.

Also, Mexicans are doing better than before, and now have options in the suburbs. They're moving to Lincoln Park, Taylor, Madison Heights, and a few other inexpensive inner suburbs. Hopefully there will be new blood in SW.

I talked to our neighbours while visiting the area and they don't seem in a hurry to leave. Most of the homes are well taken care of and while SW has deteriorated to some degree, it has deteriorated at a much slower pace than most other areas in the city. I feel like it's one of the better areas to put some roots down. It's not like I'm gonna move to Broderick Tower or buy one of the Willy's lofts fer christsake...