Detroit Home Renovation Blog

[MJCMEX]

Hello,

It was suggested that I keep an ongoing blog or thread about my move to Detroit, renovation of the home I bought and the various experiences good bad and ugly.

So here it goes:

I flew into Detroit last week to inspect the house I bought in Morningside on Buckingham.

Morningside has many examples of colonial style homes with brick facades now either vacant or used as section 8 rental.

As I got off of the 94 freeway and drove in the still pitch black early morning I saw a neighborhood that reminded me of Highland Park in L.A. from about 25 years ago. There were a few burned out houses, but not as many as I had seen in other locations. The over all impression was one of both poverty and potential.

I drove across outer drive and noticed a variety of neighborhoods, some spendid, some not so splendid.

As I finally came across my own block I found my house and pulled into the tiny driveway.

My home is structurally very sound, but has been hit by vandals. The actual livability factor of the house is solid. Most of the damage is cosmetic. I already knew that I would have to replace plumbing and heat systems so this is no surprise.

The professional thieves had already plundered what they wanted long ago. The roof, put there by the previous owner who lost the property because of a sub prime mortgage, is new and in great condition. The garage needs some help, but againt the roof is new.

The houses to both the left and the right are vacant. However someone has gone to some effort to make it appear as though the houses are at least watched or maintained.

The worst blight on the block is just across the street from me. It is the only burned roof on the block that I was able to find.

The neighborhood itself is mixed. There were obviously working class Black families, not gang members but just decent folks, walking their kids to school, going to work, etc. There were also caucasians in the neighborhood. A young woman who appeared to be either Hispanic or Mediterranean of some sort lives in the colonial style house next to the one with the burned down roof.

She is petite and owns a dog that seems to be twice her size. I plan to have my wife makes her acquaintance later.

The most frightening experience of the day was the brief encounter with a very angry White Guy. He was walking his German Shepard and volunteered his opinion about how the neighborhood had fallen apart. I am told that I needed a big gun and a big dog.
He had lived in the neighborhood for 50 years...growl growl [[the dog was well behaved and sweet) The guy seemed to be in his mid 50's so that could mean that he somehow inherited the house from his parents.

I certainly saw no signs of him being threatened by anyone else around him.

My biggest problem at the moment seems to be teenage vandals. They are breaking into the house and using it as a place to party. Given the fact that the place has been vacant for several years this is no big surprise. I found some Zig Zig papers on the floor [[as if I had never used those in my own youth) as well as empty brandy bottles.

Later in the afternoon there were two police cars that parked on the street. The police seemed to be in a pretty jovial mood so I went over and talked to them. They told me:

"Nothing much ever happens on this street. It's pretty quiet."

Mighty encouraging words.

I am asking my contractors to include baby-sitting the house in their list of services for doing the work that needs to be done.

My next step will be to do everything that can be done to the house while we still live in a different state.

Once we move and can take proactive steps to protect the renovations as they continue we will start to bring the beautiful old house back to life.

To be continued....

[p1acebo]

I was curious, how much of the house do you plan to have done before you actually move in? Assuming you plan on moving straight into your house, would the heating and plumbing at least need to be finished before anything else?

[cman710]

Thanks for the update. Please continue to update us regarding your move to Detroit as you move along.

[masterblaster]

You are my hero MJCMEX. You are brave. I hope your neighborhood and the city in general is good to you. Please get involved in the neighborhood association. Please post photos of your renovation.

[Patrick]

My aunt and uncle moved away from their nice place on Buckingham in 1991 after fucks broke in 4 times in one year and threw a brick through their window in the afternoon..

[x97winkler]

Congrats. I am in a similar situation. We purchased a home in Indian Village in November and have been renovating the entire house. We currently live in Florida and plan on coming back in April. Since we bought ours, there has been several other vacant house that have sold in Indian Village. So far this has been an amazing experience. Good luck.

[Jimaz]

Thanks, MJCMEX. This thread could be very useful to people following your path in the future.

Hope it all works out for you.

Keep it up.

[Route29]

My aunt and uncle moved away from their nice place on Buckingham in 1991 after fucks broke in 4 times in one year and threw a brick through their window in the afternoon..

This is what I am afraid of in the case of our brave homeowner. I believe he may be underestimating the dangers down the road. Once you load up your house with stuff, people gonna want that stuff.

That said, if said homeowner makes it and everything turns out reasonably well...Detroit could be fertile ground for people around the country who are willing to make a go of it and want a good deal on some damn fine houses.

[Patrick]

As long as you have strong and "aware" neighbors you should be set, right? Maybe keep some firepower as backup and well-placed lights on sides of house as well as garage.

[Eastside]

Good Luck MJCMEX!

You'll have a great house when you're done with the renovations, decorating and all of that good stuff. People like you DO make a difference. Detroit life can be be tough at times, but overall it's a pretty damn good place to live.

Later!

[jtf1972]

When I bought my old place on St. Mary's the realtor was late bringing the keys. I was sitting on the porch when one of the young guys that lived next door comes over and asks what i'm doing. I told him I bought the place & was locked out, waiting on the realtor. He took me around the side and showed me the window that didn't lock, so I could get into my new home. A couple hours later that very window was nailed shut.

I'm looking forward to reading more about your home. Too bad you're not moving in & fixing it up as you go... I moved in when I was still without lights or water.

[gnome]

MMex, too bad you couldn't have stayed longer, I'm sure an collective welcoming party could have been arranged. maybe next time.

So did you spec PEX tubing for your plumbing? Copper could grow legs and I'm not a big fan of pvc. oh, if you are going to put in a water heater/furnace, I think you night want to be living here when that happens. Those have been known to grow legs too.

Let us know if you need any recomendations like painters, cement guys, etc. Almost eveyone knows someone who does something.

[cub]

Or if you need someone who looks like a bouncer to sit on the porch for a little while I will volunteer. lol My brothers and I did that when my aunt moved to a new neighborhood. She hasn't had a problem in 9 years.

Cub

[Hamtragedy]

Gnome hit it on the head. Pex won't walk out on you. Wait till the weekend before or right after you move in, preferably in warmer weather. There on contractors who will work with you whether you're running a boiler or a furnace. And they do the job in a day or two because they have 3 more to do this week, and maybe a water heater. too.

As for the houses next door, if someone has already gone thru enough trouble, they would love if you showed an interest, especially since this person is your most valuable asset in your absence or presence. If you see the door open, lock it or board it up. Run an extension cord if you can and leave a low watt bulb in. If people get in there, do it again.

Ask a neighbor, bang on a door or two and find out who the reliable kids are on the block. They usually come in pairs. Make sure that whatever job they do is decent, and ask them to set the price, within reason, but don't low-ball 'em. . If they do an adequate job shovelling snow, in the spring, go to your local lawn-mower dude and buy a used lawn mower for them. Or a new one. Show them how to use it, and they'll hit the other neighbors. Your three lawns [[they're all yours now) you can package after all of you weedwack them in the early spring. Waiting till the grass is knee high will only wreck the mower and who the hell wants to cut that?

[Diehard]

Make sure you get in touch with the neighborhood association and introduce yourself. They'll be very supportive and will most likely help keep an eye on the place.

http://www.our-morningside.org/

[MJCMEX]

Hi Everyone.

Thank you so much for the warm comments.

My house does need both plumbing and furnaces, but the electrical does work

Is that plumbing called Pex or Plex? Either way I asked for PVC which is used a lot in California and they said that they use a flexible plastic pipe instead. My plumbing bid includes that kind of material.

As soon as we have plumbing we will be in ourselves. We can space heat while the forced air system is being put in.

My wife can't wait to do the more detailed renovations...for her the fun is in doing it herself.
So she will choose the paints, stains, new countertops, etc...I will be the ox who lifts all the heavy stuff...you know, traditional machismo from a Mexican Guy in his mid 40s.

My wife is excellent at home renovation, furniture etc.

"Our house kicks ass" is the battle cry from Ms. Mex

I am likely to throw myself a welcome to the neighborhood, "Go Pistons and Michigan State Football" style BBQ.

[[Any college football team brave enough to wear their jock straps on their helmets has my respect!)

I will keep you posted as to that event and the rest of my adventure.

[Det_ard]

The plumbing piping of choice is called PEX [[cross-linked polyetheylene). Better than CPVC IMO. Won't burst if it freezes which is good if you only have space heating for a while. PEX is great stuff.

Once the valuable [[to scrappers) stuff goes in make sure there's either someone in the house or the appearance of someone in the house. Don't put the water heater box or old furnace parts at the curb, it's a giveaway that things are happening.

[DetroiterOnTheWestCoast]

MJCMEX: I wonder if perhaps those Time Magazine folks who are chronicling things in Detroit would be interested in your endeavor.

[MJCMEX]

MJCMEX: I wonder if perhaps those Time Magazine folks who are chronicling things in Detroit would be interested in your endeavor.

That sounds very interesting....please tell me a bit more about this article.

I will google Time and see what I can find out.

Thanks.

[Diehard]

http://detroit.blogs.time.com/

I suspect they visit this site.

[MJCMEX]

http://detroit.blogs.time.com/

I suspect they visit this site.

Thanks I will continue to check this blog out.

Tell me...there is talk on this blog about no fresh fruit etc...yet I have heard that Grosse Point has a Trader Joe's

I don't expect the worst parts of the city to have great shopping, but where are middle class people going to shop for groceries and so forth.

[Pam]

Thanks I will continue to check this blog out.

Tell me...there is talk on this blog about no fresh fruit etc...yet I have heard that Grosse Point has a Trader Joe's

I don't expect the worst parts of the city to have great shopping, but where are middle class people going to shop for groceries and so forth.

http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com/

http://www.honeybeemkt.com/

[cman710]

MJCMEX, definitely check out the Honeybee, particulalrly if you want ingredients for cooking Mexican or other Latin American food. I'd guess it would be about a 15 minute drive for you. This is the writeup from the MetroTimes:

Honeybee La Colmena
I’ve told you about this place before, but can’t stress enough what a sterling example it is of a market that serves its ethnic neighborhood [[in this case, Mexicantown) with high-quality, very low-priced foods and cookware at very low prices. You may not have a need every week for fresh cactus paddles, tomatillos and dried chipotles, but when you want them, Honeybee has them. Also fresh tortillas made in the neighborhood, chorizo made on-site, traditional ollas [[clay bean or stew pots), molcajetes [[heavy stone mortars), Mexican white cheeses and creams, and bags upon bags of fresh spices at prices unmatched anywhere that I’ve yet found. 2443 Bagley St., Detroit; 313-237-0295.

[MJCMEX]

Thanks yet again...

That open farmer's market looks great. Not only good shopping but great ambiance.

Honeybee's reminds me of Mariana's or King's Ranch out here.