 
Higgs1634
Member
Username: Higgs1634
Post Number: 36
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 10:57 am: |    |
I have a client that owns a home in Boston Edison. For many years it has not been used as a primary residence. The client is elderly and, long story short, let the place get a bit run down. The client moved out of BE in the 70's, and the house was then basically used as a place to entertain and do business in the city...so hasn't really been lived in for quite a while, and hasnt been used for those purposes since the late 80s. As plagues many homes in that area, its been subjected to several break-ins and most recently several copper thefts (gutters/downspouts).
Recently a friend of mine said he heard of charitable organizations in Detroit using somewhat run down homes as training clinics for contractors. Idea is to get minority contractors some assistance in getting off the ground. Orgs like Urban league and New Detroit were mentioned. I've also come across some info on Boston Edison Development Corp. Before I start calling these people, just wondering if anyone here has heard of similar things or has a better idea of what these programs do...if they even exist...etc.
Just as an aside, the idea is not to "flip the house", it is to get it back usable shape and remove some blight from the neighborhood. |
Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard
Post Number: 2053
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 11:58 am: | |
Instead of "begging" for free goods and services, why doesn't he just sell the place or donate it, if he's a charitable chap? |
Brandon48202
Member
Username: Brandon48202
Post Number: 138
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 12:40 pm: | |
If your client is unable to maintain the property himself he should sell it to someone who can take care of it. |
Wash_man
Member
Username: Wash_man
Post Number: 254
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 1:07 pm: | |
If the idea is not to "flip the house", just what is the intention? Fix it up and let it sit vacant again so the copper can be stolen again. I think I'm missing something here. |
Higgs1634
Member
Username: Higgs1634
Post Number: 38
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 2:06 pm: | |
Wow. selling the house, you say... gosh, why didn't I think of that?
Notwithstanding the red hot real estate market around here, a sale is off the table at this point...the client has an emotional attachment to the family home and their Detroit roots. Irrational? yes. But it is the reason it wasn't sold decades ago...as it should have been.
My intent was inquire about a creative resolution to the situation. Didn't mean to imply the goal was to get something for nothing. Charitable use of the property is the goal. The intent is not to fix it up to just have it sit empty again...or to exploit a charity for the client's personal gain (as certain Mo-town execs with homes in the area have been rumored to have done), but to put it to some productive use short of selling it. |
Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard
Post Number: 2054
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 4:48 pm: | |
Notwithstanding all the perfume you're placing on this caper, it still smells funny as if your client (or you) want something of value for nothing. |
Higgs1634
Member
Username: Higgs1634
Post Number: 40
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 5:49 pm: | |
LY- Thanks for that valuable input. Really appreciate it. |
Livernoisyard
Member
Username: Livernoisyard
Post Number: 2055
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 6:09 pm: | |
Let's see: The structure was essentially abandoned for some thirty years. It has only seen very limited use during that time.
The owner is elderly, and as things happen, elderly die at a higher than average rate. Just who will own this house under that likely scenario? But again, it's none of my business.
Was this house rented out during the past three to four decades? Having an empty house anywhere in Detroit is a dicey proposition as to not having it repeatedly vandalized.
There was a recently renovated house in Detroit done with much volunteered labor and donations that was savagely ruined just prior to its completion. I wonder how those volunteers and donors feel. Yet, another plea went out for seeking even more funding to fix it again.
Home owners who have unoccupied houses do not offer much, if anything, to the community. If the real estate market is zilch, then what's the harm in donating it to some party (or sell it at the fair-market value, however pitiful) who would occupy the place and fix it up? Why hang onto the place for another three or four decades? Do you think that's a good speculation strategy? |
Rrl
Member
Username: Rrl
Post Number: 704
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 7:26 pm: | |
quote: the house was then basically used as a place to entertain and do business in the city.
Sounds to me like hooker haven |
Jams
Member
Username: Jams
Post Number: 4470
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 7:27 pm: | |
Pics? |
Dhugger
Member
Username: Dhugger
Post Number: 167
Registered: 03-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 9:44 pm: | |
Pics with the business that was conducted in the house? |
Barnesfoto
Member
Username: Barnesfoto
Post Number: 2904
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 12:00 am: | |
there was a recent article about Fort Wayne Restoration activities (I posted it on the forum several months ago) that mentioned a DPS program which mixes building trades and historic preservation.
I can't think of a better training ground for historic preservation than Detroit...and I can't think of a better target group to be trained than kids who live in the city, suffer a lack of career opportunities, and are surrounded by crumbling historical buildings.
People hang on to property for many reasons, and those motives are not always logical...If the folks criticized here are making an effort to preserve and maintain the house, than why not give them encouragement? |
Detroit_stylin
Member
Username: Detroit_stylin
Post Number: 3525
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, January 04, 2007 - 8:17 pm: | |
Higgs shoot me an email I may know someone interested in a property (charitable) in BE.
detroitstylin2000 at yahoo dot com |
Jme1405
Member
Username: Jme1405
Post Number: 4
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 9:02 pm: | |
With the right price this house could be sold - and possibly to someone who would actually fix it up and make it a place that would benefit the City. |
Dougw
Member
Username: Dougw
Post Number: 1541
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 10:13 pm: | |
Another thing this owner could do if they really want to hang on to the house but still be a good neighbor, is to find a good person or couple or family to rent the house and live in it. That way you don't have to worry about guarding it from being stripped, etc. Even a very modest monthly rent would be enough to pay your property taxes, as a bonus (since in this case the taxes would be capped pretty low for a long time owner). A long-term vacant house is a disservice and a danger to any Detroit neighborhood. |
Gibran
Member
Username: Gibran
Post Number: 9
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 5:06 pm: | |
Maybe we should think outside the box a little to save the homes ....why not help people learn a trade in return for restoration...I thought once that wouldn't it be a good win win situation to restore homes with a master contractor and young people willing to learn a trade...grants tpo cover costs and then neighborhoods could get a face lift...by the way the restoration of the neighborhoods also needs to include schools and shopping, the only way to maintain an area. |
Detroitrulez
Member
Username: Detroitrulez
Post Number: 159
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 5:25 pm: | |
great idea.!!!..thinking outside of the box like that!!....why don't you add in some nice parks and a healthy mix of residential and retail? and also a large retractable dome over the area, like a biosphere, so we can keep things a bit more temperate when the weather gets nasty. Also--some sort of remote electric device which disables firearms with the push of a button. we need to get those on the streets. |
Ndavies
Member
Username: Ndavies
Post Number: 2461
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 6:12 pm: | |
quote:Maybe we should think outside the box a little to save the homes ....why not help people learn a trade in return for restoration...I thought once that wouldn't it be a good win win situation to restore homes with a master contractor and young people willing to learn a trade...
You mean like the Motor City Blight busters and Habitat for Humanity both currently do in Detroit? |
Gibran
Member
Username: Gibran
Post Number: 11
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 6:32 pm: | |
So sorry...I forgot about Habitat and didn't know about Motor city...new to the post...by the way I am so glad people like Detroitrulez still has that tremendous Detroit sense of humor...I have seen cities using Habitat regain a toehold...thanks Ndavies for the lesson. It just is so sad to see such grand areas fade away...and I do realize that it is crime that facilitates that...but keeping kids busy and moving forward is one alternative, even if it reaches one person. |
Bostonedisonrocks
Member
Username: Bostonedisonrocks
Post Number: 5
Registered: 03-2007
| | Posted on Monday, March 05, 2007 - 11:36 am: | |
You asked for info about BEDI - Boston-Edison Development Incorporated. It is a non-profit originally started by a group of Boston-Edison neighbors. The goal is to purchase run-down, mostly vacant, deteriorating, mostly uninhabitable properties at a reduced rate -- invest money and time to rehab and then sell at fair market value. They have completed 8 homes to date -- their latest home is now for sale at 1403 Longfellow. BEDI gets their capital / money from "investors".... who are neighbors that invest "x" amount of money for a two year period -- at a nominal interest rate. Most "investors" keep their investment in BEDI - rolling it over and over so BEDI can continue doing good work. Without BEDI, 8 homes in Boston-Edison would now be gone to ruin. BEDI, however, does not assist others in rehabbing their homes. |
Dougw
Member
Username: Dougw
Post Number: 1586
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 06, 2007 - 3:42 pm: | |
BEDI is a great program! To the original poster -- if you wanted to sell your house to BEDI to let them do their work, that would be a fine idea. |