Affordable Housing shortage in Detroit

**renf** · May-11-19, 08:43 AM

City planner Maurice Cox has ideas about renovating about ten neighborhoods in Detroit. Some work has already been accomplished in the Fitzgerald neighborhood and Jefferson Chalmers may be moving toward the top of his list. Will this increase the supply of reasonably price, desirable housing in the city?

**Richard** · May-11-19, 10:07 AM

I was watching a series on you tube about a guy that maintains and helps out of state investors buy properties in Detroit,in the background of one was a house that had a big landbank sign on it.

It appears that they are retaining and fixing some for affordable housing options,it may be worth for somebody to look in to it if they were in the market.

**Richard** · May-11-19, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by O3H

How does buying a house for $20,000 and then putting $50,000
into it , to renovate UPwards into the modern age, make it affordable ?
Who is going to do that on $15/hr or $20/hr payscale .

They will not,with the way you worded the post,it is failure from the start.

It can be done if one drops the mindset of having to be modern and wanting it now.

You have not lived life until you have spent a few months washing dishes in the bathtub.

If one does not have faith in themselves and continues to come up with excuses of why they cannot,guaranteed they never will.

**SammyS** · May-11-19, 10:22 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

They will not,with the way you worded the post,it is failure from the start.

It can be done if one drops the mindset of having to be modern and wanting it now.

You have not lived life until you have spent a few months washing dishes in the bathtub.

If one does not have faith in themselves and continues to come up with excuses of why they cannot,guaranteed they never will.

Or if they insist it must be in the “hot” locations.

**Richard** · May-11-19, 10:54 AM

Yea people have a problem with wants and needs.

Everybody wants a 3 million dollar penthouse and a Lamborghini,but all one really needs starting out is a dry roof,toilet and a Coleman stove.

You can take a salvaged claw foot bathtub and hook a garden hose to it for water and a rubber hose out to the back yard for a drain and survive while you improve,but now days if granite countertops are not included it is unaffordable.

Maybe that is why I always liked vintage houses,you can take all of the old stuff that everybody else throws away in order to modernize and it fits and looks good after installation.

**Gistok** · May-11-19, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by casscorridor

Detroit metro overall is still one of the most affordable in the nation. But 'affordable' as a concept is problematic, because there are so many factors to consider what makes something affordable. Yes, you may be able to buy a decent house cheaply in a Detroit suburb, but you will be isolated and bored and have to drive far to get to everything including work. If you want to live near Downtown Detroit, however, there is a real shortage of affordable, decent housing. So now we're seeing outrageous prices for Downtown housing that you'd see in much larger and more expensive cities because the supply is so low. There needs to be more middle class housing options in the center of Detroit, otherwise there will end up being this huge divide between a very wealthy center surrounded by destitute neighborhoods. It just doesn't seem sustainable in the long run to have that sort of inequality.

Maybe if you're talking 28 Mile, it might seem boring... but I can assure you that most suburbs below 16 Mile are anything but boring. They have the same or higher density [[due to no homes being torn down) than Detroit, and have the added bonus of having a wide selection of stores within walking distance. I guess the boredom would set in if you didn't spend a lot of travel time traveling just to go shopping... and not worrying about leaving your house unattended while you were gone...

**Richard** · May-11-19, 02:20 PM

^ everybody knows you rich folk in the burbs have the money to buy the good stuff,the days of burb safety are gone.Burglar alarm systems have more sales in the burbs,must be needed.

living in the hood does take a mindset and different awareness,you do not buy a new flat screen tv and set the box at the curb advertising.

A cute cuddly pit bull and camera system are also good deterrents,stand in the yard naked yelling at nobody and people will just think you are crazy and avoid you,problem solved.

Living urban takes the same situational awareness as it does visiting.

Granted there are some neighborhoods where it is best to enter prepared for battle but there are a lot of misconceptions when it relates to what some call ghetto hoods,you would be surprised to see how many good intentioned people actually live in the ghetto,not everybody is slinging crack and holding thier 9 sideways.

**hybridy** · May-15-19, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

Yea people have a problem with wants and needs.

Everybody wants a 3 million dollar penthouse and a Lamborghini,but all one really needs starting out is a dry roof,toilet and a Coleman stove.

You can take a salvaged claw foot bathtub and hook a garden hose to it for water and a rubber hose out to the back yard for a drain and survive while you improve,but now days if granite countertops are not included it is unaffordable.

Maybe that is why I always liked vintage houses,you can take all of the old stuff that everybody else throws away in order to modernize and it fits and looks good after installation.

i got one for ya
https://matrix.realcomponline.com/Ma...60593618-948#1

**Wesley Mouch** · May-15-19, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by O3H

How does buying a house for $20,000 and then putting $50,000
into it , to renovate UPwards into the modern age, make it affordable ?
Who is going to do that on $15/hr or $20/hr payscale .

$20/hr x 2080 hrs./yr. = about $40,000. Rule of thumb is that you should be able to afford something around 2-2.5 that, so a $70k house [[20+50) should be 'affordable'.

On a monthly basis, $20 x 4wks x 40hrs = $3,200/mo. income. Mortgage, insurance, taxes for an $70k house should be well around a quarter of that.

So it is 'affordable'.

Of course you can't get a mortgage, downpayment, or anything else without doing a lot of stuff right. Listen to your teachers in school. Learn. Get a decent job. Pay your bills. Spend responsibly. Perhaps combine your income with your siblings and share a home. Don't gamble.

**Honky Tonk** · May-15-19, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

$20/hr x 2080 hrs./yr. = about $40,000. Rule of thumb is that you should be able to afford something around 2-2.5 that, so a $70k house [[20+50) should be 'affordable'.

On a monthly basis, $20 x 4wks x 40hrs = $3,200/mo. income. Mortgage, insurance, taxes for an $70k house should be well around a quarter of that.

So it is 'affordable'.

Of course you can't get a mortgage, downpayment, or anything else without doing a lot of stuff right. Listen to your teachers in school. Learn. Get a decent job. Pay your bills. Spend responsibly. Perhaps combine your income with your siblings and share a home. Don't gamble.

Good post and you're correct. I was always told only 25% of your income should go towards your housing. In today's society, especially if you're TV bound, you're constantly being encouraged to over spend. Whether it's for cars, clothes, housing, or bling. This is one reason people are in hock and live paycheck to paycheck. That's fine until something changes, then they're in trouble.