where to buy in detroit? (Redford: house, safe neighborhood, construction)

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by eternus

I was also thinking of buying in the Detroit area because some of the architecture is amazing but... This post might have scared me off. I have an 18 month old and eventually he will have to go to school.

I'm from Canada so we only hear bad things about Detroit (the news only shows the bad, never the good). I was thinking the media was making it worst than it seems but now I'm not so sure. I have commutted from Windsor to Detroit for over 9 years so I've seem some of the areas. It's awful the way things are. So many poor homeless people walking around and then beautiful buildings (architecture wise) just falling apart with boarded up windows. Look near Michigan avenue around the bridge area (i-75/Rosa Parks). It's so sad...

Detroit #1's comment did it for me "Don't bother and stand out to anyone and they won't bother you." - How the heck do we "not stand out"? Basically it sounds like if we look at someone funny we might get in trouble. What do you suggest? Should I should just duck when I walk and look down(?) Forget it! That was not a good point to show it's a safe city.

The whole tax situation and scandal about the mayor and his gang of bodyguards and corruption also got to me. The voting trends give me doubts that the next mayor voted in will be any better and thus the city will unfortunately continue to fall apart.

One note, having done extensive renos: I'd worry about any house built 1960's and prior about asbestos and lead paint used through the years. I think I'll rent in Troy for starters and go from there... I'll probably end up buying a cookie-cut house in the suburbs or move out of Michigan shortly after renting (will depend on job situation which is not looking good).

There are some fabulous places outside of Detroit. It is the City that has bad schools. The following are wonderful places with Great Schools:

Plymouth.
Northville
South Lyon
Grosse Pointe
West Bloomfield
Brimingham (if you do nto mind some pretentiousness)
Franklin
Rochester Hills
Grosse Ile

If you like Subdivisions strip malls and shoppiung malls the following will appeal to you:

Novi
Troy
Canton
Livonia


then out near ann arbor there is:
Saline
Dexter
Chelsea
Tecumseh
all great towns with great schools.


the Greater Detroit area has some of the best towns/Cities anywhere.

[Shnoz]

To refer back to the OPs question, have you looked at Woodbridge in Detroit? It's a nice little enclave just SW of Wayne State University nestled in between Grand River, Trumbull, and I-94. Lots of students in the area as well as some young couples. They finally just got a walkable bar!

Homes in the area were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s and are quite beautiful. That being said, they probably require some work, such as this 2500 sqft, 8br 2ba home for $105,000.

[The Michiganian]

For the original poster, and the answer to the question of "where to buy":
"trinkit" mentioned Indian Village and the Boston-Edison district, but to mention: Sherwood Forest (7 mile-Livernois area), Rosedale Park, Palmer Woods. Northwest Detroit (large, Colonial homes), brand-new homes in the Harbortown area and south of Jefferson west of Chalmers (really nice homes, there). As for the public schools, check out the websites for those schools. Most aren't the greatest, but many are. My three have gone through the public schools, and are currently in High School. Their GPAs are 3.5, 3.7, & 3.8. The eldest has been getting information from Universities all over the United States since the 9th Grade, based on academics. So far, over 60 have come from places as far away as California, and as prestigious as Yale and Harvard. The very first came from the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The Class Valedictorian from Middle School, she is now taking both Physics and Calculus in High School, and doing very well. The middle child was third in the Valedictorian GPA from Middle School, but finished the final year with a straight 4.0 GPA from beginning to end. This child has taken harp, and is now taking German and Advanced Geometry. The youngest was also Class Valedictorian in Middle School, has taken violin, is now in Advanced Algebra, and will start taking Japanese in the Fall. The youngest has been playing chess since the 1st Grade (which he learned in school), and had once beaten a 4th Grader and a 6th Grader in a Downriver chess tournament. He was in the 2nd Grade at the time.
I was born and raised in the city proper, as was my wife of 21 years. We both came up through the Detroit Public School system, and have never seen one unemployed stretch in our adult lives. I have never been stabbed, shot, or robbed, and neither has she. I do not now, nor have I ever carried a gun, a knive, a peashooter, or required the usage of harsh language. I drive an American-made car, and am very content with living here. I do NOT live in any of the aforementioned neighborhoods, but the one I'm in is good enough for me and mine. If it wasn't, I'd move. Now, this is from a life-long Detroiter, not someone who can read the paper or focus on a news "report".
The city isn't perfect, but nowhere is. Those who leave are actually a part of the problem, not the solution. The perfect answer regarding the whole situation is: "It is what you make of it."

[nesha520]

I'm from detroit and live in saint louis now...and I have experienced more crime since I've been here, only 2 years than in my 21 years of life. It depends on what you are looking for....Detroit has alot of charter schools which are free and some schools are schools of choice and you can enroll even if you live in that neighborhood. I would say look at southfield, royal oak, detroit westside palmer woods....They have alot of foreclosure so you may be able to find a steal...

[scolls]

If you like the Detroit style but don't actually want Detroit, I recommend Harper Woods. I just moved there and love it. The area is still nice, and part of it is in Grosse Point school district and it is affordable. It is relatively safe despite the crime statistics. Just stay away from Eastland after dark. Harper Woods doesn't have the downtown area or anything like that, it is basically a bedroom community. It shares the NE border of Detroit and is essentially Detroit. It is what Detroit was 40 years ago. Same style homes, just minus the blight and crime that is facing Detroit today. Harper Woods also offers better city services than Detroit. All the shopping I need is nearby. Eastland is within walking distance, and Macomb Mall is a short drive up 94.

[AncientCoins]

Woodbridge, Corktown, Boston Edison, Univeristy District, Downtown, East Riverfront, New Center, Indian Village, Sherwood Forest, Mexicantown,

outside the city: Hamtramck, Dearborn, Ferndale, Royal Oak.

[AncientCoins]

I forgot Midtown.

[Shrewsbury Road]

Its like I always say, it's hard to find that sort of thing in Detroit, however there are some neighborhoods still like that whether or not people want to admit or believe it with good not great school, crime lower than the worst parts of the city, neighbors that aren't so ignorant and houses $100,000 and under: Sherwood Forest, Green Acres, North Rosedale Park, South West Detroit, Midtown, Palmer Woods is much more expensive, proceed with caution but don't be completely discouraged.

[ocean2026]

If you're an investor there is NO PLACE to buy in Detroit. The new numbers have Detroit's median house at $5816 and GM isn't finished laying off. The Detroit News found its the educated and employed who are leaving so as the population shrinks - so does the demand.

The suburbs are showing a huge increase in foreclosures. The prognosis isn't good.

If you have to live in Detroit and you know your job is going to last for 5 years- buy something nice near where you work. Bargain because its a buyer's market.

[69husky400]

This thread has been very interesting and it is nice to hear positive things about Detroit. I live in Seattle but have been looking at inexpensive (sub-$10,000) houses in Detroit because it would be nice to have a house that's "all ours" in case we lose our Seattle home. But the high property taxes do scare me off... We pay $3400 per year on our house which is currently valued at around $300k, while a $10k house in Detroit has $4500 annual taxes. Seems like quite a ripoff.