Buena Sala Apartments [Update: Destroyed by Fire on Sat. AND immediately razed]

[kraig]

You are aware that the condo market died a couple of years ago- right? Even in the best suburban areas they're selling at huge discounts.

I don't think you would have investors lining up around the block to finance your plan.

I'd finance this in a heartbeat. If you rent the units at $500.00 a month, this building pays the $9,088.00 purchase price, repair and renovation costs, within a few years. The scariest thing with this is dealing with the City of Detroit's beauracracy. If a developer has the patience and capital to deal with that, they'll be fine.

[softailrider]

I'd finance this in a heartbeat. If you rent the units at $500.00 a month, this building pays the $9,088.00 purchase price, repair and renovation costs, within a few years. The scariest thing with this is dealing with the City of Detroit's beauracracy. If a developer has the patience and capital to deal with that, they'll be fine.

I like your math, it sounds really good. I don't think it's quite that easy though - If it were, there would be renovated apartment buildings all over the city instead of vacant lots.

[Zacha341]

That's true. It's hard to get consistently paying tenants in some areas. This is a big problem for many who own rental property.

I like your math, it sounds really good. I don't think it's quite that easy though - If it were, there would be renovated apartment buildings all over the city instead of vacant lots.

[davewindsor]

That's true. It's hard to get consistently paying tenants in some areas. This is a big problem for many who own rental property.

I disagree. If you run a well-maintained building, there's things you can do like run credit checks on people to minimize the risk of getting more than one or two deadbeat tenants. Not everyone in that area is a deadbeat. As long as it's not run like a slum, you can get consistently paying tenants. The big problem is that banks and other money lenders simply will not lend money on apartment buildings and apartment building rehabs on principle alone because there have been slumlords who wrecked it for everyone.

[Zacha341]

Yes, the banks do see this as a risky venture... you'd have to have your own capital to make a go of it... others have tried, some with success, some not. Most depends on 'location' and a careful, evaluation of the area, to see where it is heading or turning/ from walking the area/ talking to people and merchants who live and do business there not just people afar 'online'. That area has taken a somewhat rough turn in the last 6 years.

Credit checks would have to be fully enforced [[no exception) with thorough security-based background checks [[not just the light surface kind). With the building monitored by on site manager 24/7. And clearly everyone in that area is not a dead beat, I have family in that area and I live nearby. But you'd have to be on the defensive to be landlord in that area...

Obviously and apparently, things went very wrong in the prior ownership and declining tenancy to bring this building down along with others nearby... the reason[[s) needs to be objectively evaluated be any serious new owner considering to make a go of it, 'beyond' what failed before. Every since the Liv/ Elmurst precinct closed crime has been up sadly.

I disagree. If you run a well-maintained building, there's things you can do like run credit checks on people to minimize the risk of getting more than one or two deadbeat tenants. Not everyone in that area is a deadbeat. As long as it's not run like a slum, you can get consistently paying tenants. The big problem is that banks and other money lenders simply will not lend money on apartment buildings and apartment building rehabs on principle alone because there have been slumlords who wrecked it for everyone.

[davewindsor]

I drove through this area last night and around the block just to get a better idea of the area. I noticed that on the east side of Lasalle Blvd, where this building is, there is another vacant apartment building next to it, a couple vacant lots, then Tyler street, and then another boarded up apartment building on the other side of Tyler on the east side of LaSalle. Then, I drove along Buena Vista and all the houses next to it looked vacant. Yet, on the west side of Lasalle Blvd, it looked like all the houses and apartment buildings are well kept, clean and near fully occupied. Still, this building looked like it was the best building in the whole subdivision.

It reminded me of the Ambassador bridge expansion in Windsor where a whole side of the street was bought up and boarded up, yet they couldn't knock them down because the city got in the way. I'm starting to wonder if the reason this building closed down was not due to poor management, but plans for a highway expansion, where they bought up all these buildings with the intent of knocking them down, emptied them up, and then ran out of money and.or complications from the city and then put them back on the market. Anyone know if there was some kind of road widening planned for this area?

[Zacha341]

Yeah, I drove by there the other day too and was like 'wow' what happened here? A progressive deterioration happened in that section ala the adjacent properties.

That area is Russell Woods and was once very, very nice.

Long story short, it would be highly speculative and risky for someone to purchase that building and rehab it with the rest of the area so broke down. Who would want to live there amidst the squalor that is so much of corner and street?

The whole block needs a rehab to bring in a decent, stable tenancy to make the venture worth while... like if someone perhaps purchased two of the larger apartments... Dreaming I know but what it could be would be splendid.

The architecture of that building is outstanding!

I drove through this area last night and around the block just to get a better idea of the area. I noticed that on the east side of Lasalle Blvd, where this building is, there is another vacant apartment building next to it, a couple vacant lots, then Tyler street, and then another boarded up apartment building on the other side of Tyler on the east side of LaSalle. Then, I drove along Buena Vista and all the houses next to it looked vacant. Yet, on the west side of Lasalle Blvd, it looked like all the houses and apartment buildings are well kept, clean and near fully occupied. Still, this building looked like it was the best building in the whole subdivision.

It reminded me of the Ambassador bridge expansion in Windsor where a whole side of the street was bought up and boarded up, yet they couldn't knock them down because the city got in the way. I'm starting to wonder if the reason this building closed down was not due to poor management, but plans for a highway expansion, where they bought up all these buildings with the intent of knocking them down, emptied them up, and then ran out of money and.or complications from the city and then put them back on the market. Anyone know if there was some kind of road widening planned for this area?

[bartock]

I drove through this area last night and around the block just to get a better idea of the area. I noticed that on the east side of Lasalle Blvd, where this building is, there is another vacant apartment building next to it, a couple vacant lots, then Tyler street, and then another boarded up apartment building on the other side of Tyler on the east side of LaSalle. Then, I drove along Buena Vista and all the houses next to it looked vacant. Yet, on the west side of Lasalle Blvd, it looked like all the houses and apartment buildings are well kept, clean and near fully occupied. Still, this building looked like it was the best building in the whole subdivision.

It reminded me of the Ambassador bridge expansion in Windsor where a whole side of the street was bought up and boarded up, yet they couldn't knock them down because the city got in the way. I'm starting to wonder if the reason this building closed down was not due to poor management, but plans for a highway expansion, where they bought up all these buildings with the intent of knocking them down, emptied them up, and then ran out of money and.or complications from the city and then put them back on the market. Anyone know if there was some kind of road widening planned for this area?

Not a chance in that area. No need to expand Jefferson [[and the Pointe's wouldn't let that happen) and no need to expand Alter [[and wouldn't happen). No freeways nearby, either.

Edit: Add - I was looking for houses on that end of Grosse Pointe Park, north of Alter and East/South of Jefferson. There are neglected/empty homes popping up on those last few blocks of Grosse Pointe Park. I think it is just the trend over there, hopefully it stops.

[kraig]

I like your math, it sounds really good. I don't think it's quite that easy though - If it were, there would be renovated apartment buildings all over the city instead of vacant lots.

It's definitely not easy. The issue is having the up front funding to complete the project. This is where the DEGC can really come into play and work out a deal that could benefit the owner of the property and the neighborhood. The DEGC is actually very good for small projects like this because they're beneath the attention of those that would interfere in order to get a piece of the action.