Detroit offers 50% off home discount to city workers

**Vic01** · January-26-15, 06:16 AM

City of Detroit employees, retirees and their immediate families will receive half off homes sold in a city auction designed to save fixable homes in stable neighborhoods as part of a new incentive Mayor Mike Duggan's administration is to announce this morning.
Current city workers — those on the city payroll or working on contract with the city — and retirees will be eligible for 50% off the final auction price of homes put up to bid through the Detroit Land Bank, spokesman Craig Fahle told the Free Press.

Factoring in immediate relatives — which include siblings, children and parents of the city's current and retired work force — adds a potential pool of buyers far beyond the city's current workforce of about 9,000, along with 23,000 retirees.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...ives/22327567/

**Scottathew** · January-26-15, 09:10 AM

I like this program. Hopefully it will encourage more Detroit home ownership. People with city jobs have rather reliable employment, and retirees have a predictable fixed-income.

I hope it works out!

**Honky Tonk** · January-26-15, 10:29 AM

Great program! Look how well the incentive for Police Officers to buy homes, worked, from a few years back.

**ndavies** · January-26-15, 12:30 PM

Sounds to me more like they are grasping at straws to fix a failing program.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...tion/22202417/

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · January-26-15, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by ndavies

Sounds to me more like they are grasping at straws to fix a failing program.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...tion/22202417/

Sounds to me like they are adjusting the program in order to improve it. Try something new; see if it works; if it doesn't work as well as expected shake it up a bit. How many of the 150 homes closed on and on the road to rehab would still be abandoned without this program? Most likely.....all of them.

**Scottathew** · January-26-15, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by ndavies

Sounds to me more like they are grasping at straws to fix a failing program.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...tion/22202417/

The auction program is not failing. It's selling houses like crazy. However, 90% of the auctioned homes are going to cash buyers, in part because many folks can't get a mortgage for the value of the home.

This adjustment to the program will encourage more home ownership, instead of investment properties.

I would much rather live next to a house that's owned by the person living there, instead of living next to someone who has little skin in the game and is only renting for a year or two.

**Honky Tonk** · January-26-15, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by 48307

The auction program is not failing. It's selling houses like crazy. However, 90% of the auctioned homes are going to cash buyers, in part because many folks can't get a mortgage for the value of the home.

This adjustment to the program will encourage more home ownership, instead of investment properties.

I would much rather live next to a house that's owned by the person living there, instead of living next to someone who has little skin in the game and is only renting for a year or two.

Do you own a home in Detroit?

**Scottathew** · January-26-15, 03:19 PM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Do you own a home in Detroit?

No, I do not. I work in Detroit, but I do not own a home in Detroit. I own a home that I live in Rochester Hills, and I own my last home [[not by choice) in Warren.

**Honky Tonk** · January-26-15, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by 48307

No, I do not. I work in Detroit, but I do not own a home in Detroit. I own a home that I live in Rochester Hills, and I own my last home [[not by choice) in Warren.

I went to a friend's funeral in Rochester Hills about 2 month's ago. UNBELIEVABLE congestion. Especially Saturday on Main Street. I couldn't deal with it on a regular basis. You actually have to own property in Detroit, outside the Green Zone, to appreciate some of the remarks Detroiter's make on this forum. All these "new" ideas look good on paper, online, on TV. But until you actually deal WITH the problems, on a daily basis, you can't appreciate what people here are up against. On the surface, main thing that's being sold is hope. The carrot is always being dangled in front the mule. There are serious issues deeply entrenched, and it's going to take years to resolve, if, they ever will be. I wish this new plan the best of luck.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · January-26-15, 05:17 PM

They should offer this deal to others, regardless if they worked for or retired from the city. Open it up to all, if they can afford to purchase and rehab homes, and by doing that, it may get more homes back on the tax rolls, just don't make it inclusionary to just former or current city workers.

**ABetterDetroit** · January-26-15, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

They should offer this deal to others, regardless if they worked for or retired from the city. Open it up to all, if they can afford to purchase and rehab homes, and by doing that, it may get more homes back on the tax rolls, just don't make it inclusionary to just former or current city workers.

How do you make a auction half off to everyone?

**Scottathew** · January-26-15, 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by ABetterDetroit

How do you make a auction half off to everyone?

You cannot. Everyone would just bid twice as much.

**ABetterDetroit** · January-26-15, 09:34 PM

Originally Posted by 48307

You cannot. Everyone would just bid twice as much.

Then... They should have 90% off for everyone!

**Cincinnati_Kid** · January-28-15, 02:22 AM

We've got our own Governor Walker in Rick Snyder, and I can't speak for Wisconsin, but the only job market growing here in Michigan, is minimum wage jobs, there's plenty of those.