So what do you think about the blight bundle buyer?

[getmoore]

I've been following the Wayne County Auction and was surprised when someone bid on the blight bundle which was designed for no one to bid on. Do you think this could be good for the City?
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...ndle/18069497/

[DetroitPlanner]

I hope he pays taxes on them.

[motz]

I've been following the Wayne County Auction and was surprised when someone bid on the blight bundle which was designed for no one to bid on. Do you think this could be good for the City?
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...ndle/18069497/

Same guy that did Woodbridge Estates

I would say that if the properties get taken care of [[whether it be clearing and maintaining lots, restoration, development, etc) that it's an overall win for the city. Regardless of if they are in similar fashion to Woodbridge Estates, doing SOMETHING with them would be nice. But the city has a history of "Developers" and "Investors" who come in speaking about how they are ready to help turn Detroit around, just to fade into obscurity. So my overall judgement is "let's see what he does. Could be good, could be more of the same".

[Johnnny5]

Assuming this guy actually comes through with the 3.1 million my guess is that he'll be flipping what he can quickly, holding out and asking well above market rate for those lots that others have been maintaining and desire and in the end let the remainder go back to the city.

"City officials have told community leaders they would be able to buy tax-foreclosed lots for $100 if no one bought them at the auction."

This is the part that really bothers me! The quote from the article leads me to believe that many of these lots were wanted by other city residents, but their chance to bid on them was lost due to this bundling. I don't know all the details, but it sounds to me as if the plan by the city may have backfired.

[SWMAP]

Herb Strather is a pretty iffy guy. Like Bob Bashara, a charmer guy with schemes. Maybe Strather has more money than Bashara, but maybe not.

Google him up. There's a lot like this: http://longshotsblues.wordpress.com/...criminal-past/

I think he will default on this bid. The Deputy Wayne County treasurer said it all: Strather probably thinks the County will help pay for the required demolitions while Strather picks off the most lucrative properties to flip them.

[Shai_Hulud]

I think it might be better if this does not get paid for.

While the Land Bank is not perfect they are doing better than Wayne County. I think they are more likely to flip the lots and get the demo done faster among properties that are spread out across the city than an investor trying to pick the low hanging fruit.

[Cliffy]

This guy is a dead beat. He buys run down buildings and sits on them hoping he can flip them but usually they go into disrepair.

[MSUguy]

Assuming this guy actually comes through with the 3.1 million my guess is that he'll be flipping what he can quickly, holding out and asking well above market rate for those lots that others have been maintaining and desire and in the end let the remainder go back to the city.

That sounds like exactly what he is trying to do. Can you say scam artist?

He said he hopes the Detroit Land Bank will agree to use federal money to demolish some of the homes and plans to meet with its officials soon.
Land bank officials on Wednesday said they are waiting for the outcome of Strather’s talks with the county treasurer to finalize the purchase. A land bank official cautioned that federal funds can’t be used to demolish privately owned properties.
“If Mr. Strather is expecting the land bank to pay to demolish properties he has purchased, he has misunderstood the law,” said spokesman Craig Fahle.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...iens/18117195/

[Cliffy]

Well its Thursday evening, I wonder if the wired money cleared. Somehow I doubt it.

[Hypestyles]

This story has become too public to not follow-up on. So within a month let's see where this stands.

[ABetterDetroit]

I hope he pays taxes on them.

Would it be reasonable to expect that he pays the taxes on every property in the bundle or risk losing all of them? If not than cherry picking could have been predicted in this case.

[thoro]

I don't understand why WC did this. Perhaps, they thought no one would bid on it. The sheer amount of the properties would cast a lot of doubt on a private party. They said 2000 were for demo, I suspect a whole lot more are in about the same class. There might be 100-200 that could be re-habbed and sold. A lot are in crummy neighborhoods. The vacant lots are scattered and would only be of interest to neighboring properties. This is like a couple of guys with a pickup going after a multi million highway job.
WC should've held a pre-bid conference with bidders, laid out the timelines and required insurance and a performance bond. Otherwise, IF this deal actually goes thru, the prime properties will get sold and the demo, upkeep and etc will come to a halt.
The Land Bank is at least somewhat responsible.

[Islandman]

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...iens/18117195/

[Honky Tonk]

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...iens/18117195/

Yeah, this is the right guy for the job.

[motz]

Would it be reasonable to expect that he pays the taxes on every property in the bundle or risk losing all of them? If not than cherry picking could have been predicted in this case.

I think it absolutely reasonable to ask someone to shore up every property's delinquent tax bill as a gesture of commitment to this purchase. My personal reasoning is that Wayne County has had a big problem with tax foreclosed properties being purchased by speculators, having those speculators pay off the back taxes but not pay taxes, causing those properties to go back into the tax foreclosure process. It's part of the reason why the Land Bank's auctions have been so successful and are producing results. The people who decide to purchase those properties are told they have VERY strict rules, and if they don't follow them? Too bad, we're taking it back.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...iens/18117195/

Also this. He should have to get this fixed prior to ANYONE letting him purchase that bundle. If he can afford 3.1M, but can't pay back taxes on what he owes, well... that's a load of horse plop.

[SWMAP]

There is some mischief afoot here and it's hard for me to believe that WC officials haven't figured it out if a little person in SWDetroit can see the mischief. Maybe someone high up is cooperating!So, Strather's partner is the guy who owns Eco-Solutions in Pearsville TX. Google entries for this supposedly lucrative business say that it was founded in 2012 by one John Page.Now google up Herb Strather AND John Page and learn that Page used to be a Deputy with MI Gaming Control Board until he left to become an auditor for MI tribe running a casino. His LinkIn says he left that job in 2011. Nothing more.So, I deduce that this land purchase has something to do with Strather's perennial desire to get back in the gaming business. HOW that would I don't know, but something going on.I wouldn't be surprised if John Page a member of some tribe, for example.
Anyway, the MGCB was right across the street from the St. Regis Hotel when Strather bought it. Maybe a coincidence!

[Hypestyles]

...how do people with this much debt apparently still have the financial wherewithal to even attempt to facilitate these kind of elaborate deals? side note- the optics of any political pushback on Strather-- even if deserved, will eventually get muddied up in racial politics. At his press conference he already remarked on having a problem with "outsiders" speculating on properties..

"I am just like the city of Detroit," Strather said during the press conference at his building, Tower Center Mall in Detroit, a shopping center at Grand River and Greenfield. "I have taken my financial hits."
Strather runs his own real estate school called Strather Academy. He said he is one of the most experienced developers in Detroit and is best equipped to revitalize the problem properties.
But Wayne State Law School professor John Mogk said any developer who has a record of not "meeting obligations needs to be looked at carefully. You don't want to have the blight continue.".
Strather is the registered agent of a company, Apollo Two, that has lost four Detroit properties this year to tax foreclosure; another 85 are at risk for foreclosure next year. Strather said those properties are owned by his real estate students and many of them are on payment plans with the treasurer.
Strather owes at least $300,000 in state and federal IRS tax liens from 2007-11 and more recent court judgments, according to records filed with the Wayne County Register of Deeds.
Strather has a $77,000 judgment filed against him this year in Wayne County Circuit Court by Comerica Bank for a defaulted loan.
"As far as I am concerned they are small," Strather said of the tax debt and judgments, which he said he plans to pay.
Court records show Strather also owes $24,000 for unpaid rent and fees for a Riverfront Towers apartment that he lived in until 2010 and $25,000 to a Detroit pastor who alleges he wasn't paid for a failed investment.
Strather and his businesses have been sued in federal court over failed projects and other deals at least five times since 2000, records show. The suits have all been settled.

[Lowell]

...how do people with this much debt apparently still have the financial wherewithal to even attempt to facilitate these kind of elaborate deals?

I'd guess he is the front man for a group of silent investors. They could be betting there are a few jackpot properties in that haystack, enough to cover costs. Find those, then unload the rest of the parcels for whatever they will fetch and hopefully end up with a profit.

It's risky as there has to be a lot of liability and violations attached to what they acquire. How does one even begin to secure a scattered empire like that?

[SWMAP]

You are missing it. See my post above.

[animatedmartian]

Blight bundle buyer has changed his mind. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/detr...-herb-strather

[RickBeall]

A quote from the article:
>>He did submit a deposit of $315,000 to put a “hold” on the properties while he worked on developing a viable plan for them, .... Strather does not get his deposit back.

I bet that is a big "ouch" for him. It would crimp my bar money for the weekend.

[Hypestyles]

Theproperties now transfer back to the city, which will proceed with the processuntil, most certainly, the properties do end up with the land bank after all.Strather does not get his deposit back.

My guess is that Mr. Strather will publicly file a lawsuit to try and get the money back, and portray himself as a victimized local community activist going up against the system.

[48202]

Article has been updated and corrected to say that Mr. Strather's deposit will be returned.

[RickBeall]

Bummer!!!!

[Hypestyles]

Hopefully the city doesn't hear from this clown again. After all the bluster in that press conference, this guy was trying to pass himself off as a straight-up real estate mogul. I guess he's a mogul, all right: as in those annoying clumps of snow/ice that accumulate on ski slopes, that trip you up if you're not careful.