What's the story on this house? 2265 Boston

[softailrider]

It's a beautiful house, and an even more beautiful neighborhood, but I wouldn't live there for free.

Safety and peace of mind are the most basic requirements of human shelter. This location has neither.

Can't argue with that last paragraph, couldn't have put it any better.

[softailrider]

Yes, but they're selling fast because they're such a bargain and the buyers know that because they see others listing for so much more. If you went to that buyer who paid $127K, you think he'd sell it to you for $127K? Nope, He knows it's worth more and you're not gonna get it for anywhere near what he paid for it..

Granted, he might not get more if he relists it now on the open market. But. real estate markets have cycles and he's thinking in the long term and that guy will win big in the future. Now is the time to buy and hold.

Buy and hold huh? And pay the taxes, insurance and everything else while you hope for an uptick in the real estate market in Detroit? Are you for real? Do you think there's going to be a reincarnation of RIMCO or something?

[masterblaster]

I just want to thank Crawford and Iheartthed for their thought-provoking insight into how NYC turned around, and I really appreciate EastsidAl's thoughts as well. Is there anyway we can manifest those same catalysts - rail transit, young artists, diverse economy - in Detroit before the whole city outside of downtown goes to hell?

[croweblack]

BUT, the real kicker is - you should buy into this area soon because once the rail line is constructed, the prices will shoot up. You'll miss your opportunity if you don't buy in now. If you do buy in now, you could make a lot of money in the future.

.

you sound like ferchill when he was pimping the BC condos!!

How did that work out?

[dcmorrison12]

Danny.... it seems we have Crawford 2.0


What you said was uncalled for, unnecesary and unwelcome

[East Detroit]

Steam heat...

So, if you buy a house with steam heat, what are your viable options for A/C?

[mwilbert]

Well, lots of people just put air conditioners in some of the windows--that is cheapest, and depending on your layout in a multistory house with a decent sized stairway you may only have to put some upstairs and the cool air drifts down by itself.

If you don't want to use window units, and assuming it would be too disruptive to actually put in ducting, as far as I know you have two main options. One is a unit that uses smallish tubes for ducting instead of the traditional ducts, but otherwise is pretty similar to a traditional central air system. The other is a system that uses inside wall-mounted air handlers connected by external tubing to a outdoor compressor/heat exchanger. I have experience with multiple installations of the latter [[Mitsubishi Mr Slim is one brand, there are others) which I have found to work pretty well.

The Mr Slim type systems are good for a small house, because you don't need to find a place to put the air handler inside. On the other hand, in a big house you might need more than one unit, and they are not inexpensive.

In Detroit, a whole-house fan is also a possible option. They can be very effective, but obviously when it is very humid they aren't going to do much of anything about that.

[1KielsonDrive]

This is an interesting but sad discussion about the current state of the housing market in Detroit. Thanks to all for your input, I'm enjoying it immensely, having a long term relationship with BE and Detroit. Lorax, your first post, #3, pretty well sums it up, sorry to say. dcm, you and I've had disagreements, particularly about mass transit. Your statistics about growth along rail lines is accurate and has been proven in other locals, BUT, this is Detroit and Detroit seems to defy every conventional wisdom and statistic. As I've said before, I think you're wrong BUT I hope you're right. A modern mass transit system has been a wish of mine since childhood riding the DSR and Great Lakes Transit. I also had a few opportunities to ride electric busses and trolleys. IF mass transit comes to the Detroit Metro area, it would be the most significant development spark and tool in decades.

[davewindsor]

Buy and hold huh? And pay the taxes, insurance and everything else while you hope for an uptick in the real estate market in Detroit? Are you for real?

Yes, yes and yes.

[EDBL]

If you don't feel safe in that area, get a CCW permit. If you're gone, have an alarm set up with monitoring or get a guard dog. If you're talking about B-E, I suspect it has a good neighbourhood watch program since I didn't see any boarded up, broken windows or even bars on the windows the last time I walked through it, unlike the houses I saw on the other side of Woodward, but don't let that side of Woodward deter you. Just pay attention to the condition of the houses on the block you want and that should be indicator of the area.

I promised myself that I would not post this on the forum but I can't let this go. It deals with crime in Detroit. I had a beautiful home in a historic district in a comparable area meaning our neighborhood was fine but surrounded just like BE.

I had security doors, an alarm system, lighting and a great guard dog. I decided to go to Windsor to meet a friend back in December. When I returned, they tried to get in the side but couldn't get through the door. All the while I am sure the dog was going off since she would bark if the wind blew too hard.

Not to be deterred, they decided to jump the fence and go to the back door. Unfortunately, they got through. Keep in mind, while this is happening my large 70 lb dog is going nuts.

Not a problem for them, they came in and shot her dead.

I believe they were still in the house when I pulled up since they left quite alot of valuables which means if I would have gotten there three minutes earlier they might have shot me.

But here's the kicker. They came back the next day and tried to break in again-in broad daylight.

That was the last straw. In my opinion, crime in Detroit has gotten completely out of control and I do not foresee it getting any better anytime soon. When I toyed with the idea of driving around the corner, parking my car, jumping the fence and going back into the house to wait for them to come back I knew it was time to go.

I have been very active in community service in Detroit and have always supported the city but enough is enough. The criminal element is so out of control. It is just not worth living there anymore. Insurance and taxes are also out of control

A CCW won't help unless you are ready to use it. Alarm systems can be cut and as you can see they could care less about a big guard dog.

My dog was great, had her since she was 6 weeks. I lost more than a dog; I lost my best friend. And Detroit lost an active tax paying citizen.

[Thames]

My condolences on the loss of your friend, EDBL. That must have been horrible.

[davewindsor]

I promised myself that I would not post this on the forum but I can't let this go. It deals with crime in Detroit. I had a beautiful home in a historic district in a comparable area meaning our neighborhood was fine but surrounded just like BE.

I had security doors, an alarm system, lighting and a great guard dog. I decided to go to Windsor to meet a friend back in December. When I returned, they tried to get in the side but couldn't get through the door. All the while I am sure the dog was going off since she would bark if the wind blew too hard.

Not to be deterred, they decided to jump the fence and go to the back door. Unfortunately, they got through. Keep in mind, while this is happening my large 70 lb dog is going nuts.

Not a problem for them, they came in and shot her dead.

I believe they were still in the house when I pulled up since they left quite alot of valuables which means if I would have gotten there three minutes earlier they might have shot me.

But here's the kicker. They came back the next day and tried to break in again-in broad daylight.

That was the last straw. In my opinion, crime in Detroit has gotten completely out of control and I do not foresee it getting any better anytime soon. When I toyed with the idea of driving around the corner, parking my car, jumping the fence and going back into the house to wait for them to come back I knew it was time to go.

I have been very active in community service in Detroit and have always supported the city but enough is enough. The criminal element is so out of control. It is just not worth living there anymore. Insurance and taxes are also out of control

A CCW won't help unless you are ready to use it. Alarm systems can be cut and as you can see they could care less about a big guard dog.

My dog was great, had her since she was 6 weeks. I lost more than a dog; I lost my best friend. And Detroit lost an active tax paying citizen.

Sorry for your loss, but, first, this was not the BE district this happened in. What area of the city was this? Also, was the alarm monitored, i.e, connected to a security company? It doesn't sound like it was, but if it was, did they come out? What was the response time? What was the monitoring company name?

Did they ever catch the culprits? If not, why not? Security cameras can now be connected to basic PC real cheap. At Besy Buy, I can now get a colour infrared night vision security camera with 100 feet of 9volt cable for $39 [[I have several). I can hook with it up to my PC with a $20 card off ebay [[I've done this) with the videos saved on my hard drive. A UPS can be bought for under $100 so the computer can for some time if there's a power outage. I can even live stream the videos over the Internet to store at a remote location. Did you do that?

But, this is all besides the point. What you've told me sounds like an inside job. They knew you went to another country. They cut an alarm and knew where it was and how to do it without tripping it. They knew you had a dog and broke in and shot her. How did they know how to cut your alarm? Have you ever let strange people into your house who scouted it out? There's something about your story that just doesn't add up, which makes me think this incident could have been avoided and that this is not a general thing that would go on in BE, but something more unique to your situation.

[mwilbert]

On the one hand, EDBL's very unpleasant experience is a single incident which can only be given so much weight. On the other hand, the notion that this occurred because of some sort of insufficient caution on the part of the victim seems a bit much. Probably if he had hired an armed guard to stay in his home whenever he went out, this could have been avoided, but that might not really give a resident a warm fuzzy feeling about their neighborhood even so.

People really want to think that there is some reason that people who have bad things happen to them did something to deserve it. People who live in what they perceive as safe places probably think that people who live in Detroit at all should expect to be robbed and have their dogs killed.. People who live in one neighborhood may think that about another one. People who live in the same neighborhood and are victimized live on a bad block or have the wrong alarm system or the wrong dog. This kind of analysis is human nature, but that doesn't make it sound thinking.

Not recognizing risk is just as inappropriate as overreacting to it.

[skyl4rk]

sorry to hear about your dog, EDBL

[LodgeDodger]

Sorry for your loss, but, first, this was not the BE district this happened in. What area of the city was this? Also, was the alarm monitored, i.e, connected to a security company? It doesn't sound like it was, but if it was, did they come out? What was the response time? What was the monitoring company name?

Did they ever catch the culprits? If not, why not? Security cameras can now be connected to basic PC real cheap. At Besy Buy, I can now get a colour infrared night vision security camera with 100 feet of 9volt cable for $39 [[I have several). I can hook with it up to my PC with a $20 card off ebay [[I've done this) with the videos saved on my hard drive. A UPS can be bought for under $100 so the computer can for some time if there's a power outage. I can even live stream the videos over the Internet to store at a remote location. Did you do that?

But, this is all besides the point. What you've told me sounds like an inside job. They knew you went to another country. They cut an alarm and knew where it was and how to do it without tripping it. They knew you had a dog and broke in and shot her. How did they know how to cut your alarm? Have you ever let strange people into your house who scouted it out? There's something about your story that just doesn't add up, which makes me think this incident could have been avoided and that this is not a general thing that would go on in BE, but something more unique to your situation.

Moderator, please cross-post to "Blame the victim". Have a bit of heart, dw. Jeez.

[crawford]

Dave in Windsor, besides making an incredibly insensitive "blame the victim" post, you seem to miss all the facts.

1. The incident[[s) occured in another of the wealthier Detroit neighborhoods. This means either NW Detroit or Indian Village, both of which have lower crime rates than B-E. So if it can happen in lower crime neighborhoods, it sure as hell can happen in B-E.

2. Why are you asking if "they" caught the culprits? Are you referring to the poster? The police? DPD does not investigate these types of cases. You think DPD has the resources to respond to burglaries and animal abuse?

3. Security alarms can be cut. You do not have to be a CIA operative or something.

4. WTF are you talking about inside job? How does anything in his post indicate inside job? And if it was an "inside job", then the crooks had broken watches? They came a second time while he was home, and they were still there when he arrived home the first time!

[Patrick]

I haver heard some great things about living in Indian Village as well as BE. However, I have heard many more bad things as well. Breaks-ins and armed robbieres where the cops never show is one major issue. With the economy the way it is in Detroit, Indian Village is just going to be seen as a major target by hoods and shitheads. They would never block off some of the streets the way Korte was blocked off by Alter Road.

[mwilbert]

1. The incident[[s) occured in another of the wealthier Detroit neighborhoods. This means either NW Detroit or Indian Village, both of which have lower crime rates than B-E. So if it can happen in lower crime neighborhoods, it sure as hell can happen in B-E.

Actually, he said "in a beautiful home" in "a historic district" in a "comparable area." As Detroit has over 40 historic districts many of which are comparable in one way or another and many of which have beautiful homes, I wouldn't be inclined to guess where EBDL's problem occurred.

I agree with your other points.

[davewindsor]

Dave in Windsor, besides making an incredibly insensitive "blame the victim" post, you seem to miss all the facts.

1. The incident[[s) occured in another of the wealthier Detroit neighborhoods. This means either NW Detroit or Indian Village, both of which have lower crime rates than B-E. So if it can happen in lower crime neighborhoods, it sure as hell can happen in B-E.

2. Why are you asking if "they" caught the culprits? Are you referring to the poster? The police? DPD does not investigate these types of cases. You think DPD has the resources to respond to burglaries and animal abuse?

3. Security alarms can be cut. You do not have to be a CIA operative or something.

4. WTF are you talking about inside job? How does anything in his post indicate inside job? And if it was an "inside job", then the crooks had broken watches? They came a second time while he was home, and they were still there when he arrived home the first time!

Yes, you're just using this as an opportunity to get back at me for an earlier post. I did not miss the facts. The victim did not say what area of the city it happened in. It could have happened in Southwest Detroit for all I know.

These burglars jump a fence and shot a dog like a couple of crackheads, yet they are sophisticated enough to disarm an alarm without ever having been inside the building before? I don't buy it. Why was it so easy to get it in? The victim mentions a security door? What exactly is that? My security door is a steel fire door with steel frame secured by eight inch carraige bolts that go straight into the brick wall that I picked up from Habitat. A used steel firedoor and frame with carriage bolts and spray in foam = $100. Impossible to kick open. My deadbolts are $200 Ikons from Germany with three sided keys that are next to impossible to pick, not those cheap easily picked $10 one sided key deadbolts from Home Depot. IKON will give you, what did the locksmith say, $5,000 if somebody successfully picks them. If you loose the keys, a locksmith has to spend over half an hour to drill a hole through it to open it. I have cemented glass block windows on my basement and easily accessable windows. Style that keeps with the old architecture and heavy duty security. And, if you have a decent alarm, it'll have a telephone dialer feature so you can have it dial one of your neighbours if the alarm goes off when you're out of the area. There's so many things you can do to secure yourself that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. To walk away from a really nice house and run around the city screaming the sky is falling because you didn't properly secure your property and ended up getting victimized is just bs. Sorry for the loss, but getting robbed is something you just have to be out on the lookout for when you're living in a larger city. This is not unique to Detroit proper. People get robbed when you don't properly secure your property in other larger cities too.

[EDBL]

Sorry for your loss, but, first, this was not the BE district this happened in. What area of the city was this? Also, was the alarm monitored, i.e, connected to a security company? It doesn't sound like it was, but if it was, did they come out? What was the response time? What was the monitoring company name?

Did they ever catch the culprits? If not, why not? Security cameras can now be connected to basic PC real cheap. At Besy Buy, I can now get a colour infrared night vision security camera with 100 feet of 9volt cable for $39 [[I have several). I can hook with it up to my PC with a $20 card off ebay [[I've done this) with the videos saved on my hard drive. A UPS can be bought for under $100 so the computer can for some time if there's a power outage. I can even live stream the videos over the Internet to store at a remote location. Did you do that?

But, this is all besides the point. What you've told me sounds like an inside job. They knew you went to another country. They cut an alarm and knew where it was and how to do it without tripping it. They knew you had a dog and broke in and shot her. How did they know how to cut your alarm? Have you ever let strange people into your house who scouted it out? There's something about your story that just doesn't add up, which makes me think this incident could have been avoided and that this is not a general thing that would go on in BE, but something more unique to your situation.

There were two reasons why I didn't wish to post this. The first was because it was very painful The second was because I knew I was going to get an idiotic response like this.

First off, thanks to all of you for your condolences-it is greatly appreciated. That dog was the best of the best to the point that I think it will be sometime before I ever get another one.

I am going to type slowly Dave so please do try to keep up. Mouth the words if you must.

1. The alarm was monitored by a security company but there was no mobile patrol option. As I said, I arrived [[from Windsor strangely enough) shortly after they broke in. I could still smell the gunpowder. Frankly, the name of the company is none of your business.

2. DPD does not have the resources to spend trying to get these guys other than trying to increase patrols with little manpower which is out of my control anyway. To their credit, they came right away when I called in but that is probably because I am an officer myself. As for cameras, I had a neighbor who had those hooked up to his PC. When they broke in they stole the PC. So much for that.

3. It was not an inside job as the people I have in my house would not come back and break in. In all likelihood it was someone in the surrounding neighborhood who knew I lived alone and no one would be there which is why they kept at it in spite of the dog.

If you use all your fingers and toes Dave you will see that this "story" does add up.

Again thanks to everyone else for your kind words. BTW, I lived in the Oakman District.

[EDBL]

Yes, you're just using this as an opportunity to get back at me for an earlier post. I did not miss the facts. The victim did not say what area of the city it happened in. It could have happened in Southwest Detroit for all I know.

These burglars jump a fence and shot a dog like a couple of crackheads, yet they are sophisticated enough to disarm an alarm without ever having been inside the building before? I don't buy it. Why was it so easy to get it in? The victim mentions a security door? What exactly is that? My security door is a steel fire door with steel frame secured by eight inch carraige bolts that go straight into the brick wall that I picked up from Habitat. A used steel firedoor and frame with carriage bolts and spray in foam = $100. Impossible to kick open. My deadbolts are $200 Ikons from Germany with three sided keys that are next to impossible to pick, not those cheap easily picked $10 one sided key deadbolts from Home Depot. IKON will give you, what did the locksmith say, $5,000 if somebody successfully picks them. If you loose the keys, a locksmith has to spend over half an hour to drill a hole through it to open it. I have cemented glass block windows on my basement and easily accessable windows. Style that keeps with the old architecture and heavy duty security. And, if you have a decent alarm, it'll have a telephone dialer feature so you can have it dial one of your neighbours if the alarm goes off when you're out of the area. There's so many things you can do to secure yourself that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. To walk away from a really nice house and run around the city screaming the sky is falling because you didn't properly secure your property and ended up getting victimized is just bs. Sorry for the loss, but getting robbed is something you just have to be out on the lookout for when you're living in a larger city. This is not unique to Detroit proper. People get robbed when you don't properly secure your property in other larger cities too.

There are two things I know.

One, the house was properly secured and I am not going to waste time trying to convince you. Anyone with a crowbar and time can get past a security door. I already told you how they couldn't get past the one on the side door.

Two, you have way too much faith in alarm systems. Let me come to your house and I will bet you 500 dollars I can cut your system in less than two minutes.

No matter how locked up yoour house is if someone really wants to get in-they will get in.

Oh, btw I forgot to mention that I'm with DPD and know a few things about securing property and how people break in. But of course you know alot more than I.

[davewindsor]

2. DPD does not have the resources to spend trying to get these guys other than trying to increase patrols with little manpower which is out of my control anyway. To their credit, they came right away when I called in but that is probably because I am an officer myself. As for cameras, I had a neighbor who had those hooked up to his PC. When they broke in they stole the PC. So much for that.

3. It was not an inside job as the people I have in my house would not come back and break in. In all likelihood it was someone in the surrounding neighborhood who knew I lived alone and no one would be there which is why they kept at it in spite of the dog.

You're a police officer and somebody robbed you? They knew you were alone? Sounds more like they did it because they knew you. They didn't even steal anything as you earlier claimed. I saw Cape Fear. Ex-cons seeking revenge against cops does happen. Now we're getting at the truth. I think this was a revenge hit for someone you may arrested in the past, not a simple robbery that went bad.

[dcmorrison12]

I'm confused, how come he's being attacked for someone breaking into his home?

It's a major city, and along with the territory that a Major city brings is crime.

[EDBL]

You're a police officer and somebody robbed you? They knew you were alone? Sounds more like they did it because they knew you. They didn't even steal anything as you earlier claimed. I saw Cape Fear. Ex-cons seeking revenge against cops does happen. Now we're getting at the truth. I think this was a revenge hit for someone you may arrested in the past, not a simple robbery that went bad.

I did not say they didn't get anything. I said they left behind alot of valuables
[[PS3, TV/VCR etc.)

Here's a newsflash for you. If criminals in Detroit have no problem shooting a police officer what in the hell makes you think they care about breaking into his house?

I will not even respond to your celluoid argument about a hit based on your extensive experience since you watched Cape Fear.

This was my life, not a poor remake of a movie.

[LodgeDodger]

I did not say they didn't get anything. I said they left behind alot of valuables
[[PS3, TV/VCR etc.)

Here's a newsflash for you. If criminals in Detroit have no problem shooting a police officer what in the hell makes you think they care about breaking into his house?

I will not even respond to your celluoid argument about a hit based on your extensive experience since you watched Cape Fear.

This was my life, not a poor remake of a movie.

EDBL, just ignore that idiot. He's not worth the time.