Even by Detroit standards this house is too cheap

**Ocean2026** · December-29-09, 11:18 PM

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...214_1114650224

Less than $3 a sq ft and it looks great in the pictures - isn't this bordering Indian Village?

Of course I have only seen pictures. A friend from Las Vegas said that feral dogs roam the streets of Detroit and break into houses and eat people. Jeez what will they say next? Anyway anyone know why this is so cheap?

LodgeDodger · December-29-09, 11:35 PM

The house is located in IV. There was a tarp covering the roof for a number of months.

Perhaps you should set foot in Detroit and take a look at the homes instead of just hunting online? A drive-by would tell you why this house is listed as cheaply as it is.

**Ocean2026** · December-29-09, 11:43 PM

Lodge my next trip will be Detroit but each time I've tried something has come up. I would love to see all the places and buidings I find online and read about here. Unfortunately I'm a single parent about to pay college tuition for my son [[ well part of it) and the recession here hasn't been kind to me. Maybe the summer after next I can spend a few weeks there. On the other hand if you would like to send me a ticket...

**Cincinnati_Kid** · December-29-09, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by LodgeDodger

The house is located in IV. There was a tarp covering the roof for a number of months.

Perhaps you should set foot in Detroit and take a look at the homes instead of just hunting online? A drive-by would tell you why this house is listed as cheaply as it is.

Yeah, it probably needs a ton of work, which means a ton of $$. The tarp on the roof is a tell-tale sign don't you think??

**Ocean2026** · December-29-09, 11:44 PM

Hey there is no tarp on the roof on the pictures supplied by the realtor... lol

MichMatters · December-30-09, 12:05 AM

Ocean, maybe someday you'll view Detroit as something more than a real estate opportunity. Almost everything you post on here has to do with this-or-that cheap property. Perhaps, you'd find a better place on a board focused more on Detroit as a real estate opportunity rather than a site dedicated to a more comprehensive and complicated Detroit.

lefty · December-30-09, 12:23 AM

I knew of a house on 3 mile that sold for around 5 grand, some people from Europe, Belgium I think bought it and rented it out in a week to people down the street, I looked at it and it wasn't a hood i wanted to deal with. But they will make their money back in less than a year and the rest is gravy. If more investors put their money in the D who cares?
i see that as a good thing in the world we are living now.

**Downtown Lady** · December-30-09, 12:41 AM

Originally Posted by LodgeDodger

Perhaps you should set foot in Detroit and take a look at the homes instead of just hunting online?

He lives in Texas.

**jtf1972** · December-30-09, 12:43 AM

If it's the place it seems to be google maps satellite view, then the blue tarp was there then too.

For that price, I'd consider buying it myself & roofing it myself! But 3000 sq ft is just too big for a single man.

**Downtown Lady** · December-30-09, 12:43 AM

Originally Posted by Ocean2026

Lodge my next trip will be Detroit but each time I've tried something has come up. I would love to see all the places and buidings I find online and read about here. Unfortunately I'm a single parent about to pay college tuition for my son [[ well part of it) and the recession here hasn't been kind to me. Maybe the summer after next I can spend a few weeks there. On the other hand if you would like to send me a ticket...

Ocean, you don't owe anybody an explanation. It's clear from your posts that you're not opposed to the notion of "setting foot in Detroit" as was implied.

**Bigb23** · December-30-09, 12:47 AM

Ocean2026 -
How long has this fantasy league been going on ?
As far as I know, your still living in the Gulf area with no plans to move. But I/we appreciate the input. And don't even ask about me, I'm 25 miles out of downtown.

**Downtown Lady** · December-30-09, 12:51 AM

Originally Posted by MichMatters

Ocean, maybe someday you'll view Detroit as something more than a real estate opportunity. Almost everything you post on here has to do with this-or-that cheap property. Perhaps, you'd find a better place on a board focused more on Detroit as a real estate opportunity rather than a site dedicated to a more comprehensive and complicated Detroit.

Are you kidding me? So now everyone who posts here has to have the same intentions and agenda as it relates to the city? Anything else you'd like to decree? So other than Ocean2026, have you confirmed that everyone else here shares a unilateral view of the city? It would help to have a clear declaration of what we can and cannot be interested in as it relates to the city.

Do you participate on every thread, or only the ones that interest you? Ocean2026 is doing no different.

**MikeM** · December-30-09, 01:20 AM

Lady, you're new here so we'll give you a pass. Ocean read one of those articles about the unbelievable real estate "bargains" due to the collapse of the local economy and housing market. He then searches for distressed property, picks our brains about it, acts incredulous, and complains to us about how we run our business. Every thread starts just like this one, and he gets offended by the advice he gets, even if it's just a matter of pointing out the facts. MichMatters and BigB have him nailed.

**Downtown Lady** · December-30-09, 01:33 AM

Thanks Mike. I'm not new actually -- I posted on the old forum and only just now re-registered for the [[no longer) new forum, and I've been reading the forum for years.

I've seen plenty of threads about Ocean's interest in property, but maybe never kept reading the threads to see the pattern emerge that you stated. If so, I can see how that might annoy some people, but I still say he's entitled to his interest in buying property and posting about it. MichMatters' objection was not that Ocean complains or gets offended, but that his interest seems to be solely in real estate issues, which I just don't see a problem with.

Sorry, I don't mean any offense as I know you were being polite to me. I'm not trying to be impolite in return, just trying to explain myself.

DetroitDad · December-30-09, 01:59 AM

Yes, Ocean, how dare you show interest in investing in Detroit, for ye is not a real Detroiter like I.

*hugs*

MichMatters · December-30-09, 03:34 AM

No, it's not him/her having interest in Detroit that bothers me, it is that it's all hat and no cattle as they'd say down there in Texas. Detroit is not a city to him/her; its little more than an exploitable resource, but more importantly, one that he/she isn't really considering investing in despite his/her bogus statements to the contrary. It has nothing to do about being a "real Detroiter". I'm not a "real Detroiter". It's the sole interest in the city as some place for cheap homes that he/she has no serious interest in investing in and then lectures everyone else or feigns surprise as if looking at some car wreck. It's patronizing and fake and it's getting old...quickly.

**Zacha341** · December-30-09, 06:28 AM

Perhaps it is in a particularly bad area... come on to the D and see for yourself. Seeing is believing! In any event with a missing roof that's a bad day for any house. Might be stripped too... too bad. Looks like a fine house.

Originally Posted by Ocean2026

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...214_1114650224

Less than $3 a sq ft and it looks great in the pictures - isn't this bordering Indian Village?

Of course I have only seen pictures. A friend from Las Vegas said that feral dogs roam the streets of Detroit and break into houses and eat people. Jeez what will they say next? Anyway anyone know why this is so cheap?

**Bigb23** · December-30-09, 06:39 AM

Thanks, Michmatters -
You nailed it too, this guy has been lurking on the thread for a few years, even posting pics of his yard down in Texas. But as far as investing in the area, well, he's come up as a shorty. Lets's start a Galveston thread and see what kind of distressed property around the oil refineries we can bid on.

**davewindsor** · December-30-09, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

Yeah, it probably needs a ton of work, which means a ton of $$. The tarp on the roof is a tell-tale sign don't you think??

The tarp can also be a tell tale sign that the current vendors care enough about the property that they don't want the plaster ceilings, hardwood floors, roof boards and joists to get wrecked by water damage. You may be able to get away with just nailing another layer of shingles on top of the existing one. It may not be as bad as it seems. If I was looking to invest in IV, I'd probably check this one out first and get a home inspection for an estimate of the costs to make it liveable again. I think this place will be getting multiple offers, probably above asking.

**softailrider** · December-30-09, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by lefty

I knew of a house on 3 mile that sold for around 5 grand, some people from Europe, Belgium I think bought it and rented it out in a week to people down the street, I looked at it and it wasn't a hood i wanted to deal with. But they will make their money back in less than a year and the rest is gravy. If more investors put their money in the D who cares?
i see that as a good thing in the world we are living now.

The rest is gravy huh? Doesn't sound like you've ever had any rental property in the city.

**tahleel** · December-31-09, 02:16 AM

Cheap? Taxes are $13K a year on that alone! This property has over $30K in back taxes. I wonder what is going to happen during closing, and if the bank would pay $30K on back taxes on a house to sell it for $10K.

-Tahleel

**Goose** · December-31-09, 02:20 PM

this property went pending when it was listed for $15,000 about 2 weeks ago, back on market, the price was just recently adjusted to its current $9,900 on 12/24. This property has been on the market for long time, starting back in Jan of 08 at around $134,000. It was purchased in 2005 for $205,000 as a fanniemae repo and was probably in crap condition back then, its probably only gotten worse. Tear that schitt down........

**softailrider** · December-31-09, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by tahleel

Cheap? Taxes are $13K a year on that alone! This property has over $30K in back taxes. I wonder what is going to happen during closing, and if the bank would pay $30K on back taxes on a house to sell it for $10K.

-Tahleel

You make a huge point there about the taxes, that house ain't ever gonna get sold unless the city / county gives the bank a break on back taxes.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · January-01-10, 03:42 AM

Originally Posted by tahleel

Cheap? Taxes are $13K a year on that alone! This property has over $30K in back taxes. I wonder what is going to happen during closing, and if the bank would pay $30K on back taxes on a house to sell it for $10K.

-Tahleel

That's enough reason there to scare off a lot of people.

**Hamtragedy** · January-01-10, 05:16 AM

And enough reason for the bank to unload it.

Ocean, seriously, the banks can't take it anymore. They would rather sell the damn thing for 9 and get it off their books than take any more chances. As to why they just can't renegotiate with the currrent owner is beyond comprehension and borderline criminal.

I was in a house on W. Boston last week and the kids had thanksgiving turkeys on the fridge. It had been home depot bastardized and was full of garbage bags, [[as opposed to shit left everywhere), and listed at 29.

The house across the street was a beautiful Mission style red brick with freshly painted corbels on the ext. and had the original bathrooms and kitchen, save for the shit-heads who stole the glass Kohler sink on the 2nd floor. 39 and probably not going fast. And UNFUCKINGDAMAGED parque flooring. That doesn't suck.

Quit screwin' around with your repetitious inquisitiveness and just buy one already goddammit!!!!