Discuss Detroit » Archives - Beginning January 2007 » Buy a Burned out house! « Previous Next »
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French777
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Username: French777

Post Number: 145
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 7:00 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I always wanted to buy a burned out/ abandon house in detroit!

any good websites?
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Cambrian
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Username: Cambrian

Post Number: 1010
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 7:28 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Why?
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Quinn
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Username: Quinn

Post Number: 1247
Registered: 01-2005
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 7:50 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yes...try the Wayne County site: http://www.waynecounty.com/WCA uctions/
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6nois
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Username: 6nois

Post Number: 160
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 11:38 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Why not? I would love to buy one if I had money.
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Salvadordelmundo
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Username: Salvadordelmundo

Post Number: 90
Registered: 04-2006
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 12:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

If you buy one of those properties, does the city try to stick you with all the unpaid back taxes that such a house has surely accumulated? Or is there some sort of development/forgiveness program in place?
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Urbanoutdoors
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Username: Urbanoutdoors

Post Number: 221
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 12:28 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The House on Marquette Has a ton of potential!
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Eric_c
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Username: Eric_c

Post Number: 944
Registered: 11-2003
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 12:30 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I think you should buy one, too.

Some advice: coat the house in shellac, then park down the street at night and masturbate.

I'm sure the neighbors would view a burned out house covered in shellac and an 18-year old masturbating Frenchman as an improvement.

Let us all know if it works out.
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El_jimbo
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Username: El_jimbo

Post Number: 98
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 1:14 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

why have a masturbating Frenchman? The neighbors are already paying tax dollars to have masturbating cops.
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6nois
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Username: 6nois

Post Number: 162
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 1:43 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

^ Very good point. ^
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Quozl
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Username: Quozl

Post Number: 472
Registered: 07-2005
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 1:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

why have a masturbating Frenchman?



I guess because the OP to this thread is French777
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Cambrian
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Username: Cambrian

Post Number: 1011
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Friday, April 20, 2007 - 3:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I imagine once you own it, you would be responsible for anything that happened there. I wouldn't want that kind of liability, unless you intended to do something with the property, like build on it. How do you buy property insurance for a burned out structure?
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French777
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Username: French777

Post Number: 149
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Saturday, April 21, 2007 - 8:35 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The point I was making to Fix one up. Also plant Trees and make it look nice
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Warriorfan
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Username: Warriorfan

Post Number: 699
Registered: 08-2005
Posted on Saturday, April 21, 2007 - 10:53 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

The point I was making to Fix one up. Also plant Trees and make it look nice



Well then you must have a lot of disposable money to burn. The cost of tearing down one of those homes and building a new one, or fixing up a salvagable home, would FAR FAR FAR exceed the value of the finished product on the housing market. In case you haven't noticed, Michigan is in a severe housing slump. Home values are falling and no one is buying. And Detroit is exactly known for its high home values anyways, certainly not in the neighborhoods where you would expect to find most of these burned out abandoned hulks.
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6nois
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Username: 6nois

Post Number: 166
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Saturday, April 21, 2007 - 11:19 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Just because its costs more than you'll ever get out of it doesn't mean it is not worth doing. It's a risk but where there is risk there is opportunity. For the purposes of what you want abandoned is better than burned.
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Eric
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Username: Eric

Post Number: 783
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 12:01 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

quote:

The point I was making to Fix one up. Also plant Trees and make it look nice



In other words, you're a naive kid who hasn't given the slightest thought about the real cost or challenges.
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Dfd
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Username: Dfd

Post Number: 244
Registered: 09-2004
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 12:07 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Then there is finding the absentee owner and the title.
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Milwaukee
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Username: Milwaukee

Post Number: 1261
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 1:09 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I just took a look at those homes. How sad, they're never coming back, they're as good as firewood and other scrap materials.

It's a nice thought to buy one and renovate it, but you're the only one with that thought. Nobody, I mean NOBODY wants to live in an abandoned house in a dangerous part of Detroit. You can find those same style and quality houses in the suburbs or in other parts of the city. The difference is, you're less likely to be killed and its a lot less work to make it habitable.
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Urbanoutdoors
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Username: Urbanoutdoors

Post Number: 234
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 1:16 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Not to mention how hard it is to get a mortgage for that amount. Plus Repairs. I looked into buying one on bagley in corktown but decided against it because the amount of structural work and the lack of available funding. The sad thing is I knew if all those factors were alright that was an area of the city that it would have been worth my investment.
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Urbanoutdoors
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Username: Urbanoutdoors

Post Number: 235
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 1:21 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

This is the cities site but no pics.
http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/pl andevl/realestate/Sales2007/Bi dsales_April2007.htm
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Urbanoutdoors
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Username: Urbanoutdoors

Post Number: 236
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 1:26 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

WTF!

Thats just crazy, they may as well auction off the abandoned schools as well! The one on 12th by woodbridge could become a condo conversion...

5658 BRADEN a/k/a 6840-50 MCGRAW

(FORMERLY DPD 6TH PRECINCT)
Two story brick building, East on Braden, between McGraw and Wagner
40,449.25 SQ. FT.
M-2
$150,000.00
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Urbanoutdoors
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Username: Urbanoutdoors

Post Number: 237
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 1:36 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Y on the site before that does it give the bid dates for 2005!
http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/pl andevl/realestate/Sales2004/Bi dSalesIntro04.htm
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6nois
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Username: 6nois

Post Number: 169
Registered: 11-2006
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 10:56 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"You can find those same style and quality houses in the suburbs or in other parts of the city."

Uh no you can't. And these areas will never change unless someone like French or myself or others concerned with preservation make a move. All history will be lost if you don't try. The beauty of youth is that one knows no limits. The older you get the more realist and less fun you become. As for Nobody wanting to live in an abandoned house in Detroit well thats wrong. Because once someone lives in it, its no longer abandoned. But its also wrong because obviously French wants to, and I would love to. I actually would really love to get an apartment building, and create an artist commune.
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Barnesfoto
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Username: Barnesfoto

Post Number: 3377
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 1:24 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

"The older you get the more realist and less fun you become".
The first part is right, the second part is wrong.

When I bought my first abandoned house, people told me that I was crazy. Fortunately, I did not listen to them. It's not so hard...you camp out in a couple rooms while you work on the rest of the place. It's a great adventure.

While I would advise against starting with a building as large as a former Police Precinct,
There are plenty of other options...

The Wayne County Prosecutor's auction has a couple of great bargains on their site right now...(the trouble with buying from the City of Detroit is that they take at least a year to give you your title!)
With a bit of cash, a first time buyer could pick up one of these for 5 or 10k, then get a home equity line of credit to do some repairs....

http://www.waynecounty.com/WCa uctions/Auction/
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Frumoasa
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Username: Frumoasa

Post Number: 12
Registered: 03-2007
Posted on Monday, April 23, 2007 - 12:09 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Don't buy burnt out. The city puts you on a different list for inspections if your home had fire damage at the time of the pre-sale inspection. Look carefully, there are abandoned houses that do not have fire damage that would still greatly benefit from improvement and preservation. Pick your target neighborhood(s) first, then start looking at the prosecutor's auction, tax auctions and bank repossesions. If you are improving a home that needs improvement, you are doing a service to the neighborhood, so don't undertake too difficult of a challenge on what sounds like your first home purchase that you want to remodel.
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Tomoh
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Username: Tomoh

Post Number: 298
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Monday, April 23, 2007 - 10:36 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

What happens to some of the closed schools: http://metrotimes.com/editoria l/story.asp?id=10422
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Jdkeepsmiling
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Username: Jdkeepsmiling

Post Number: 250
Registered: 01-2006
Posted on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 - 10:43 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Anyone have any thoughts on this property or neighborhood:

http://www.waynecounty.com/WCa uctions/Auction/default_all.as p?t=&o=S
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Jdkeepsmiling
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Username: Jdkeepsmiling

Post Number: 251
Registered: 01-2006
Posted on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 - 10:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Sorry, the property listed on Marquette
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Wolverine
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Username: Wolverine

Post Number: 310
Registered: 04-2004
Posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 2:43 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Man that one on Marquette looks nice. My housemates and I should stop paying our $34,000 / year rent on our POS house and buy that thing. Good thing we have some construction experience, looks like a lot of work needs to be done.
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Defendbrooklyn
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Username: Defendbrooklyn

Post Number: 117
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 7:25 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Do pictures exist of any of thee auction properties?
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Frumoasa
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Username: Frumoasa

Post Number: 13
Registered: 03-2007
Posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 9:21 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The area definitely seems promising and it doesn't have fire damage, which is a big plus. I didn't see any major structural damage that would indicate the foundation is sinking and it seems that the plasterwork and architectural details are salvageable with some concern and effort. Someone started the renovation but apparently didn't have the money to finish it, too bad. The price however might look good now, but the prices tend to go up steeply an hour before the auction's end.
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Cub
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Username: Cub

Post Number: 27
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 9:41 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The bad thing is , the back water bill could be high as hell.
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Cub
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Username: Cub

Post Number: 29
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Thursday, April 26, 2007 - 4:54 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The house on Marquette went for $66,000 today. Cub is very sad.Lol

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