Bing Announces Police Incentives - A house for under $1,000

**tkelly1986** · February-07-11, 10:59 AM

Bing announced the incentives for police moving back in to the city - a house for under $1,000. This could be good news for 200 homes and 2 very viable communities...also tips a hat to two neighborhoods that fit in the Detroit Works plan [[though most already expected these two).

http://www.freep.com/article/2011020...text|FRONTPAGE

**rhythmc** · February-07-11, 11:20 AM

I like the idea that the city would offer homes for such a low price. I don't know why, but when they say Indian Village and Boston Edison, I imagine the larger, grand homes. I'm sure the city could fetch a better price for properties there than essentially giving them away. Hopefully, they'll put limits on the agreement many of the officers will have to sign so that they don't turn around and flip them or rent them out at a massive profit.

Buy American · February-07-11, 11:24 AM

Now, all Bing has to do is assure the residents that they will receive ALL the services, EMS, Police, Fire protection, clean up the gangs, drug dealers, hookers, thugs; decent garbage pickup, street lights, a safe place to live and work, a good place for children to attend schools with a high graduation rate, clean parks, recreation centers, etc., etc., etc.

So far, he can't guarantee any of that.

**DetroitPlanner** · February-07-11, 11:33 AM

It appears that they can only buy homes in Indian Village or Boston-Edison.

If I am reading this correctly, if you are a cop and currently renting in the City you would be disqualified. If you owned a home in another neighborhood, you would also be disqualified.

How is someone on a cop's salary going to afford the $12-$20k in taxes for one of those homes? Add to this the cost of heating and maintaining them. Add to that the cost of private school for the kiddos and you're going to be a big loser to take him up on this. I fully support getting more cops to live in Detroit, but I question the policies used in determining the areas and who gets the offers. Its almost like he thinks cops are all millionaires.

**English** · February-07-11, 11:38 AM

Buy American: Someone has to be the first. No one is going to do all that BEFORE the tax base comes back. We are trying to encourage people to move back so that there will be money for services, safety, and schools. Right now, there IS none. It's very easy to say what Detroit ought to fix, and much more difficult to actually brainstorm ideas about fixing it...

**cman710** · February-07-11, 11:43 AM

To the extent this does not work, I think they should next offer them to the Fire Department and other city employees [[even higher paid executive ones), so long as they will live in the homes. I think it is crucially important for Detroit to stabilize both Indian Village and Boston Edison, if for no other reason than that those areas produce a huge amount of property tax revenue for the city.

**English** · February-07-11, 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

It appears that they can only buy homes in Indian Village or Boston-Edison.

If I am reading this correctly, if you are a cop and currently renting in the City you would be disqualified. If you owned a home in another neighborhood, you would also be disqualified.

How is someone on a cop's salary going to afford the $12-$20k in taxes for one of those homes? Add to this the cost of heating and maintaining them. Add to that the cost of private school for the kiddos and you're going to be a big loser to take him up on this. I fully support getting more cops to live in Detroit, but I question the policies used in determining the areas and who gets the offers. Its almost like he thinks cops are all millionaires.

I agree. The MAIN areas that could use cops are the frontiers, as well as some viable neighborhoods that are facing increased crime [[Rosedale Park comes to mind).

**cman710** · February-07-11, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by English

I agree. The MAIN areas that could use cops are the frontiers, as well as some viable neighborhoods that are facing increased crime [[Rosedale Park comes to mind).

I completely agree. The border areas around Boston-Edison would be a perfect spot for a revitalization program. Having islands of wealthy people among extremely poor areas [[as with Indian Village) depresses property values and will ultimately eat away at the wealthy areas.

I am all for helping people out in more middle class areas, too, but I do think stablizing these and other areas that are already stable is also important.

**English** · February-07-11, 11:54 AM

^My cousin is a cop who is retiring and LEAVING Rosedale Park because of a second carjacking/attempted home invasion. They are moving to Arizona this year. I've talked about them on DYes before. He and his wife fought the good fight, and lived here for over 30 years of their adult life, so I don't begrudge them anything.

Another cousin is a recently retired cop whose front door was shot up in a neighborhood near Mumford. 15 years ago, that 'hood was decent, certainly much nicer than where I grew up.

That's why I support groups like Detroit 300 in addition to the middle class making a stand. Cops living in the city is all well and good, but we need to put these thugs on notice. We also need to do something about the WOMEN in criminals' lives. SO VERY TIRED of the mothers, girlfriends, sisters, and cousins of those who are terrorizing our neighborhoods defending them when they get caught. That is the most chickenheaded sh-- I have ever heard of, and as I'm from the same social milieu, with some shady relatives myself, very few things about our city make me angrier. If the women who birth these men AND the women they SLEEP with catch a clue, the city will be much better off.

**loralei** · February-07-11, 12:26 PM

The article states East English Village, not Indian Village.

southsider · February-07-11, 01:36 PM

Here's the dilemma...Its awesome to incentivize people, particularly police officers to live in the city. And although I think you have a greater chance for success of that in the better neighborhoods of the city, the problem is the dollar amount. It would be difficult for me as a non police officer to buy a home in one of these neighborhoods for 300k to 1 mill+, knowing I have next door neighbors that dropped $1,000 for their home [[police officer or not).

I think the net result is it lowers the property values for everyone in the neighborhood, and creates the illusion of a safer environment. Is it really worth it?

I would think that you make the officers put some equity into the home. If I only had 1k in a place I'm significantly more mobile and lets face it, Detroit is not exactly a place to plan a longterm future in. The people you'd attract are the young, ambitious, newly married or single cops who will bolt the second they get married or a better opportunity elsewhere.

**jackie5275** · February-07-11, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by English

If the women who birth these men AND the women they SLEEP with catch a clue, the city will be much better off.

Don't forget about the ones who leave their kids with them too.

DetroitPole · February-07-11, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by southsider

Here's the dilemma...Its awesome to incentivize people, particularly police officers to live in the city. And although I think you have a greater chance for success of that in the better neighborhoods of the city, the problem is the dollar amount. It would be difficult for me as a non police officer to buy a home in one of these neighborhoods for 300k to 1 mill+, knowing I have next door neighbors that dropped $1,000 for their home [[police officer or not).

I think the net result is it lowers the property values for everyone in the neighborhood, and creates the illusion of a safer environment. Is it really worth it?

I would think that you make the officers put some equity into the home. If I only had 1k in a place I'm significantly more mobile and lets face it, Detroit is not exactly a place to plan a longterm future in. The people you'd attract are the young, ambitious, newly married or single cops who will bolt the second they get married or a better opportunity elsewhere.

First, it says "as little as" so I'm guessing that 1k figure is the exception, not the rule.
Secondly, it says towards abandoned houses. Abandoned houses in Detroit anyway bring down the property value far more than a house going for dirt cheap. An abandoned house is more likely to attract squatters or some hood rats than anyone, so virtually nay alternative is preferable, especially a cop.
Besides, houses in both neighborhoods have gone for $10k~ on a regular basis.
Finally, I'm guessing they're not going to let Officer Lunchbox have the Berry Gordy mansion for $1,000. There are actually a ton of rather modest properties in EEV and BE. The highest anything goes for in EEV anymore is well under 200k so I'm not too concerned.
In fact, I'm almost excited...if only this works...

southsider · February-07-11, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

First, it says "as little as" so I'm guessing that 1k figure is the exception, not the rule.
Secondly, it says towards abandoned houses. Abandoned houses in Detroit anyway bring down the property value far more than a house going for dirt cheap. An abandoned house is more likely to attract squatters or some hood rats than anyone, so virtually nay alternative is preferable, especially a cop.
Besides, houses in both neighborhoods have gone for $10k~ on a regular basis.
Finally, I'm guessing they're not going to let Officer Lunchbox have the Berry Gordy mansion for $1,000. There are actually a ton of rather modest properties in EEV and BE. The highest anything goes for in EEV anymore is well under 200k so I'm not too concerned.
In fact, I'm almost excited...if only this works...

You make a couple of good points; however, keep in mind, anyone that buys a 10k home in one of these neighborhoods has to put @ least another 200k in rehabbing it. You can't just look at the purchase price of the home. Its the total amount of equity involved. They're suggesting rehabbing these private homes with federal dollars. Net result, significantly depreciated individual investment.

I do agree with your point about abandened homes. Although you make a good point, its a sad one. It speaks to the volume of despair in the city that the best neighborhoods has a catalogue of abandened homes to rehab. That being said, putting bodies in the homes at best slows downs depreciation, but doesn't reinforce longterm appreciation as I stated earlier.

**Kevgoblue** · February-07-11, 04:03 PM

The updated version of the article states that the reciving officer gets a "loan" and that loan will be forgiven based on income. But if a homeowner sells before a specific period of time he will be required to sell to another eligible family or repay the money.

What about maintaining residency? Sounds like an opportunity for a suburban officer to buy a home in one of the better neighborhoods in the city and then rent that house out. I'd sure hate to think that those stimulus dollars are being used to subsidize a new generation of absent landlords. Even if they're good landlords, I don't think the intent is to create a situation where a thousand dollar investment creates an income stream for someone who still maintains residency outside of the city.

Augustiner · February-07-11, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by southsider

The people you'd attract are the young, ambitious, newly married or single cops who will bolt the second they get married or a better opportunity elsewhere.

Well, yeah. You're not going to get some middle-aged guy in Sterling Heights to sell his house at a loss just to take advantage of this offer. I would think the idea would be to attract people who are relatively new on the force, maybe still renting and looking around for a place to live, and make them consider Detroit as an option where they otherwise might not have. Even if they don't stay in the house for the rest of their lives, they're a net benefit to the neighborhood for the years that they're there, and the houses will be fixed up and occupied during that time instead of sitting empty to be stripped or torched or squatted.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · February-07-11, 04:35 PM

It will be very interesting to see how this program works in operation, and what the additional neighborhoods will be. I would guess Rosedale would have to be rolled out soon. Fixing vacant properties up and having them occupied by cops/firefighters could only serve to stabilize prices by having fewer properties available.

The article refers to "abandoned" properties - does this mean that they are properties that the city already has a claim too?

southsider · February-07-11, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by Augustiner

Well, yeah. You're not going to get some middle-aged guy in Sterling Heights to sell his house at a loss just to take advantage of this offer. I would think the idea would be to attract people who are relatively new on the force, maybe still renting and looking around for a place to live, and make them consider Detroit as an option where they otherwise might not have. Even if they don't stay in the house for the rest of their lives, they're a net benefit to the neighborhood for the years that they're there, and the houses will be fixed up and occupied during that time instead of sitting empty to be stripped or torched or squatted.

This is the type of thought process that I believe handicaps Detroit. Its the "Anything is better than nothing" mentality. Its the same mentality that thinks that a row of strip malls with weave and liquor stores is better than an empty lot. Could have some merit, but doesn't move Detroit an inch closer to a vision of prosperity. You have to look at "who" you're attracting to "what" neighborhoods and is it in line with a master plan of growth, stability and sustainability.

Intentionally attracting transient residents does nothing for sustainability and balance.

Under what model anywhere in America would someone want to purchase a $1,000,000 home next door to a neighbor that's got $1,000 out of pocket?

Its absolutely prudent to attract people to the city, but have some vision and incentivize them to places that make sense relative to their demographics, equity and long term growth and stability. My only issue is that this should not happen in Indian Village and Boston Edison. You can put them in areas "near" those two neighborhoods, without the negative equity impact and have the same perceived benefit.

Augustiner · February-07-11, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by southsider

This is the type of thought process that I believe handicaps Detroit. Its the "Anything is better than nothing" mentality. Its the same mentality that thinks that a row of strip malls with weave and liquor stores is better than an empty lot. Could have some merit, but doesn't move Detroit an inch closer to a vision of prosperity. You have to look at "who" you're attracting to "what" neighborhoods and is it in line with a master plan of growth, stability and sustainability.

For the record, I'm quite critical of those strip mall developments, and certainly not an advocate of "anything is better than nothing."

Originally Posted by southsider

Intentionally attracting transient residents does nothing for sustainability and balance.

I don't think someone with a steady job as a city cop who is looking to purchase a house necessarily qualifies as transient, just because they might move out of the house after five years instead of 30.

Originally Posted by southsider

Under what model anywhere in America would someone want to purchase a $1,000,000 home next door to a neighbor that's got $1,000 out of pocket?

Where are these million-dollar homes in East English Village?

Originally Posted by southsider

Its absolutely prudent to attract people to the city, but have some vision and incentivize them to places that make sense relative to their demographics, equity and long term growth and stability. My only issue is that this should not happen in Indian Village and Boston Edison. You can put them in areas "near" those two neighborhoods, without the negative equity impact and have the same perceived benefit.

Not Indian Village, East English Village. "Near" Boston-Edison is a total fucking war zone, you'd need a lot more incentive than a $1000 house to convince any middle class person in their right mind to move there.

DetroitPole · February-07-11, 05:17 PM

As an important note, it appears that at some point today the Freep corrected itself and changed "Indian Village" to "East English Village." Which makes way more sense, if we're talking about strategically targeting neighborhoods.
Unfortunately it probably means sloppy reporting and virtually no knowledge of the city on the part of the Detroit-less Free Press. I can picture them now, "what did he say? What village? Huh? I've heard of Indian Village...he must have said Indian Village..."

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · February-07-11, 06:08 PM

As others have said, there are plenty of more modestly sized homes in B-E. I doubt a Boston Blvd home off of Woodward would qualify, but there are many houses, esp on Edison and Longfellow, that while not "small" are hardly mansions.

If the city is planning on obtaining and renovating homes for $150k, we aren't talking about a 10,000 sq foot place by any means.

**Fnemecek** · February-07-11, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by English

Buy American: Someone has to be the first. No one is going to do all that BEFORE the tax base comes back. We are trying to encourage people to move back so that there will be money for services, safety, and schools. Right now, there IS none. It's very easy to say what Detroit ought to fix, and much more difficult to actually brainstorm ideas about fixing it...

Actually, the money for services, safety, and schools is already there. It's just a matter of spending it on the actual services, safety, and schools instead of any of the other things that the Mayor and City Council decide to throw money at.