Detroit neighborhoods being bought up by the British?

[Gistok]

A couple of weeks ago a fellow from Britain was on this forum wanting some help with finding the Wayne County Deeds office and other locations. He was here to process purchases of dirt cheap Detroit houses for British investors.

Tomorrow I'm having a fellow come out to view my late mothers house near Balduck Park to take photos for British inverstors to buy.

It seems that with housing prices so high in the UK... and many people living there only in "semi-detached" houses, they view Detroit real estate as a great investment. They're buying them up on the cheap... but the management and rental of the properties is being handled by local real estate companies.

This is happening on a much larger scale than most on this forum realize. The problem is that some of the best areas of Detroit [[such as the far east side in the 48224 zip code) is going from home ownership to rental property very quickly. Renters don't do a good job of landscaping [[as is becoming apparent in that area)... and banks will NOT lend money for locals to get a mortgage.

Yes... there are a lot of empty houses in many areas of Detroit... but this does not bode well for the city in the long run.

In a sense I view this almost the same way I would view the purchasing of downtown buildings by out of state owners... and we've seen how that has worked out for the Book Building/Tower and now the First National Building.

I also realize that it is better to have an investor owner of an occupied property, rather than a bank owner of an empty property... but again... in the long run this does not bode well. After an investor has recouped their investment after a few years of rental [[deferrred maintenance??)... then what??

[sumas]

Sadly I agree with most of what you say. However, please don't lump all renters in one basket.

What does baffle me however is out of state investors who buy outright then don't rent or try to sell. We have a home like this next door. They have made improvements but it still sits vacant. It doesn't look vacant but someone will figure it out. I almost prefer a bank owned foreclosure, at least in EEv the banks owned properties get the snow shoveled and grass cut. I don't claim extraordinary citizenship but am tired of picking up circulars, shoveling the sidewalk so the two old ladies who walk their dogs twice daily don't slip and fall and cutting grass there when it gets shabby. Why don't they list and sell. I am baffled! It's been two and 1/2 yrs like this.

[sumas]

Sorry, I forgot to give condolences. Losing a Mom is tough and handling estate issues are so stressful.

My Mom is now in home hospice and my husband and I have set things aside to be full time caretakers. I am so grateful I have a sister that handles all those legal issues. Not sure how I would handle thinking my family home would go to a far distant investor for rental purposes. Fortunately those decisions don't fall on me.

While we are here, I have been trying to dump the old junk we all seem to collect through out our lives. Trying to help sis when the inevitable happens. Granted I am dumping boxes and boxes and years and years of church bulletins, newsletters and things of that ilk. Does kind of creep me though. Family is crawling out of the woodwork with requests for things that they want. I just refer them to my sister, ultimately she has the far harder job.

Good luck to you and wishing you happy memories of your mom and shared moments.

Sumas

[Gistok]

Thanks Sumas, it was July 31st... and mom was just 2 months shy of 88. She had survived 5 cancers in 11 years... but when it hit her small intestines... she could no longer eat. The sad part was that we helped her keep her mental faculties together with constant visits. Sadly she said that she wanted to "give up" but didn't know how...

She lived at home alone until 3 weeks before her surgery, which she hoped she would not survive. She made it 11 days afterwards... but not being able to eat was too much for someone her age. We were able to give her quality of life until the end. Her biggest fear was to end up in a nursing home... which happily she avoided.

2 months later all her friends and family got together to celebrate her 88th birthday and celebrate the wonderful person she was. She would have been annoyed at such a fuss... but also would have been pissed that she missed out on all the homemade German cakes that her best friends baked.

[Richard]

My condolences Gistok ,my father passed 3 weeks ago from mesothelioma at 78.

I think that you will find in most cases British investors are of a different breed then what we are accustomed to,typically middle income looking to make an investment into the future for their families and they realize that it is wise to protect that investment and when to sell,at a loss, if it becomes to much to handle.

If it is neighborhood problem then it will be the local aspect dropping the dime,them Brits do take pride in their investments.

Their investment fluctuates with the dollar and pound rates so if the pound is higher then the dollar then you will see increased activity.

But you do bring up a good point I am not sure if Detroit has a Rental license requirement,if they do not the now would probably be a good time to implement before things get much more out of hand which they will do as people start seeing Detroit on the rise it will attract many.

The license is cheap enough and what it does is require currant direct contact information and is a good tool for code enforcement to help the other neighbors in keeping a certain standard for their neighborhood.

There are good renters and bad renters just like home owners some renters like the neighborhood and become homeowners which is always nice.Unfortunately not everybody follows civic duty aspects.

[canuck]

Condolences to all of you who have lost a parent recently.

I think that all the buzz about the help for Detroit from Obama will definitely revaluate property upwards in the city but also the region. Imagine getting a bunch of planners descend on the city to actually redesign it in novel ways. With what we know today about sprawl, traffic, transit and community nodes, Detroit could really let loose some experimenters in urban design and become a model for cities far and wide. In the meantime it's no wonder interest is on the up from across the ocean when you consider the quality of houses in your city. This is not the end of the story, just the end of a chapter; one of many. Remember father Richard's motto!

[skyl4rk]

Some people are addicted to getting a great deal. They can't resist "the cheapest" buy. Even if the deal does not make sense for them, they are getting it at rock bottom prices. Bottom feeders. There must be some kind of mania that affects people, and Detroit seems to be the focus for cheap real estate.

Personally, I think that no sane person buys a house for rental purposes that is more than about 30 miles from where they live. Unless they plan on using a rental agency to do the maintenance, and that usually takes all the profits.

There are businesses promoting Detroit real estate to investors from outside of Detroit, check out "Detroit houses" on youtube. I don't want to call it a scam, but it does not seem like a very wise investment decision for someone that can't inspect the property or oversee the maintenance of a rental home. I wonder if they know how much they will be paying in property taxes.

It is nice that people have hope and optimism for Detroit neighborhoods, but it seems pretty risky to buy a home without ever seeing it and the neighborhood in person.

[rjk]

I think that all the buzz about the help for Detroit from Obama will definitely revaluate property upwards in the city but also the region. Imagine getting a bunch of planners descend on the city to actually redesign it in novel ways.

A group of Washington bureaucrats will be descending on Detroit to impart their wisdom? That'll be sweet. They'll have our problems on the run in no time.

[Richard]

A group of Washington bureaucrats will be descending on Detroit to impart their wisdom? That'll be sweet. They'll have our problems on the run in no time.

Actually it will not matter what they do ,its more so of a smoke screen of sorts to instill confidence to the outside world ,kinda like saying hey we are serious because we are taking this step.

[Gannon]

What's it been, about 215 years since the British flag was flown over Detroit?!


Maybe they are staging a gradual invasion.

I know they are working with the Scots, too, oddly...Django drove that one sick fellow around for a week.


It must be a collaborative attempt...

[Fnemecek]

The Brits, the Scots... Lots of people see great investment potential in Detroit's neighborhoods.

I was talking with some folks from the UAE a couple of weeks ago who are track to purchase close to 1,000 properties within the city limits. Their strategy is to make some money now through rental income and then, once the market rebounds, make a huge return by selling them.

We've got properties on the market for $15 - $20,000 that were selling for $100,000 or more less than 5 years ago. There's some movement upwards, but that's been hampered by the overall economy and such. Once those things begin to improve, the investors stand to make a considerable profit by selling to new homeowners.

The house across the street from me sold for $115,000 in 2007. A few months ago, some guy picked it up in a foreclosure sale for $18,000. It's a great time to invest, if you've got the cash.

[Gannon]

...and after taking a peek at the CIA World Factbook and other sources on-line regarding their height-above-sea-level and fresh water availability, I can understand why.

Especially if the Global Warming lie turns out to be an impending pole shift, as I suspect it to actually be.

[Gannon]

Damn, took a minute to answer a call...

[Richard]

Fish n Chips shops where the workers wear kilts.

I can see it now Detroit becomes the next epicenter for pump and dump real-estate. Or a mass of boat building factories as London becomes the new Venice.

[canuck]

Well if you look at the real estate value in places like London, Toronto, New York or Vancouver, you will find that a substantial amount of investors come from foreign countries and while it looks good on paper, it does limit opportunities for folks in the middle class. Speculation in the hot markets is not a good thing and likewise abandonment is not a solution. If some attention from the feds does come about, in spite of the light effects, it may indeed provide a springboard for development. I just hope that severe planning happens; the kind that would give value, aesthetic and ecological to the new city. If you think about cities that have a transit system and could go back to the drawing board, maybe some would not mind being in Detroit's position in order to start from scratch. Gastank half full or half empty?

[Gistok]

Thanks all for the condolences...

Just finished having the photographer take pic of mom's house... he told me it was one of the best maintained he had ever seen in this area [[Balduck Park)... but unfortunately when some fixer uppers can be had for just a few thousand, it becomes pointless to have an immaculate house and expect a lot for it.

The man did confirmt that... as was just mentioned... that Youtube and other online sites mention lots of Detroit and Detroit area homes at bargain basement prices. He also said that a lot of folks from the UK, Australia, the Middle East [[as had been mentioned), and also California... where as we know home prices are very high indeed.

I didn't mean to imply that all renters are bad [[which I know it sounded that way)... but the renter 2 doors down had weeds growing next to the shrubbery in front of the house.... and actually grew taller than the shrubbery. This was a house that had a foreign owner, but a local based property management company taking care [[supposedly) of the property's upkeep. So I was annoyed with that, and at night actually went over there last summer and pulled up the highest weeds [[granted not a smart thing to do traipsing about at night around other peoples bushes).

The city is aware of what is going on, but perhaps it is the lesser of 2 evils [[private owning renter, versus bank owned empty house). But what Sumas said about having to follow up and help maintain neighboring empty properties [[lest the scrappers catch wind of them) is something that I to have had to deal with.

However, the city does need to do more to keep things from spiraling downhill.

[Richard]

Maybe that is a story for the newspapers ,out of town owners that are charged for property maintenance that the management companies do not do knowing that enforcement is lax.

A lot of appraisers are no longer using foreclosure sales in determining comps.

[Hypestyles]

...my hope is that the Great Britain-folk who are purchasing properties actually move into the city or find UK natives who want to emigrate to Detroit..

[illwill]

I think this is a bad idea. This has been happening in Detroit for several years now. Out of town investors that are not aware of the housing situation in the city seem to think that Detroit will make a fast turn around and property values will shoot through the roof. Unfortunately, just as the investors from California swooped up Detroit properties did, they will eventually learn that it was a bad investment. Eventually, the properties will become vandalized, mis-managed and the investors walk away, never to be heard from again. Therefore the city must waste more money trying to locate owners, going through the retention process that can take months or years and then the property is AGAIN a vacant neglected property. Burden to the tax payers of Detroit.

I think Detroit needs to hold a certain amount of money in escrow for out of town investors because they're to prone to walk away. That money can be used toward delinquent taxes or attorney fees.

[GUSHI]

Should I open a tea shop, in the "D", lol

[begingri]

A member of another forum I go to named "LondonUSA" started a thread wit the title " Is Detroit worth investing in?"

http://www.city-data.com/forum/detro...investing.html

Just throwing more wood onto the conspiracy theory fire.

[Kevgoblue]

I think Detroit needs to hold a certain amount of money in escrow for out of town investors because they're to prone to walk away. That money can be used toward delinquent taxes or attorney fees.

Excellent thought. Perhaps it should be expanded even more though. Hold that money in escrow for any buyer that does not establish the property as homestead tax status.

[DetroitPole]

What a mess. A bunch of clueless limeys looking to make a quick pound but totally unaware of the situation on the ground here in Detroit. Sorry chaps, this isn't the playing fields of Eton. So the places get trashed instead of having possible homeowners buy them up.
Kind of speaks to the sad state of our nation when our nation's once-mightiest industrial city is being bought up by foreigners from an old washed-up colonial power.
I was always told this country was the strongest, mightiest, richest...now some Brits are buying up houses in my neighborhood. Where is that American dream now? Because I don't see it from the vantage point of 48224.

[Det_ard]

Nothing's stopping you locals from investing in all that low-priced Detroit real estate. Time to put your money where your mouth is. You be the landlord and property manager, you take care of the house, you keep ownership local. If you don't want to, maybe you shouldn't complain too much when someone else picks up the slack.

[Gistok]

Nothing's stopping you locals from investing in all that low-priced Detroit real estate. Time to put your money where your mouth is. You be the landlord and property manager, you take care of the house, you keep ownership local. If you don't want to, maybe you shouldn't complain too much when someone else picks up the slack.

I take it the prospect of having to watch over your own property and ALSO volunteer your time freely to help maintain the investment property of an absentee landlord neighbor [[as Sumas and I are doing) sounds appealing to you??

I'm sure when the investor sells [[at a profit or loss)... that this act of kindness will be rewarded by said investor....