East English Village (Detroit, Warren, Livonia: property taxes, homeowners association, insurance)

[CraigU]

I've read a few positive posts about this neighborhood and the homeowners association site shows homes that look beautiful. I'm thinking of moving to the neighborhood, with my family, and renovating a few homes. We would also be bringing a family business with a few jobs available to others. Our business consists of a distribution center that forwards goods nationwide. Therefore, the local market isn't a concern.

My relatives, who live in Livonia, say there are many abandoned houses in the area and it seems to be on a steep downward slide. I'm not the least bit concerned about diversity but am concerned about pride in ownership.

How is this area holding up?

I understand, by reading the posts on other threads, that many have a negative view of what is happening to the city as a whole. I'm specifically asking if this neighborhood is one of the best options other than the suburbs.

Thanks in advance.

[FireKwame]

It stood the test of time better than most areas but is showing more and more wear lately. Keep in mind when house shopping that inside Detroit, you pay more taxes per dollar of your home's worth than anywhere else in Michigan and get half the services. First thing I would do is call some insurance agents and get auto insurance quotes for your new address. Detroit's auto premiums are often 2,3,4,5 times as much as they would be in other cities, even with a spotless record. That usually adds up to thousands of dollars per year for a family. While you're at it, you may want to inquire about insuring vacant homes inside Detroit. My educated guess is that you will be surprised at how expensive living in a "cheap" city can get. Have you given any thought to where your children will attend school? 50% of Detroiters are illiterate which says a lot about the education system. If you renovate they homes...who will buy them? The market is flooded and looks to stay that way for a good long time. You will still have incredibly high property taxes (especially in EEV) and insurance payments to pay while you're waiting to sell them, which may take years.

You may want to consider opening your business inside of Detroit, which IS a good idea, but living in the suburbs.

You can go to zillow.com and enter some addresses and it will give you the property taxes on each house.

Good Luck!

[CraigU]

Thank you for responding. I was also hoping to get some responses from people in the neighborhood. The more I read, I think your assessment may be right on.

I appreciate your time.

Originally Posted by FireKwame

It stood the test of time better than most areas but is showing more and more wear lately. Keep in mind when house shopping that inside Detroit, you pay more taxes per dollar of your home's worth than anywhere else in Michigan and get half the services. First thing I would do is call some insurance agents and get auto insurance quotes for your new address. Detroit's auto premiums are often 2,3,4,5 times as much as they would be in other cities, even with a spotless record. That usually adds up to thousands of dollars per year for a family. While you're at it, you may want to inquire about insuring vacant homes inside Detroit. My educated guess is that you will be surprised at how expensive living in a "cheap" city can get. Have you given any thought to where your children will attend school? 50% of Detroiters are illiterate which says a lot about the education system. If you renovate they homes...who will buy them? The market is flooded and looks to stay that way for a good long time. You will still have incredibly high property taxes (especially in EEV) and insurance payments to pay while you're waiting to sell them, which may take years.

You may want to consider opening your business inside of Detroit, which IS a good idea, but living in the suburbs.

You can go to zillow.com and enter some addresses and it will give you the property taxes on each house.

Good Luck!

[usroute10]

I don't live in East English Village, I live in a neighborhood on the complete opposite side of the city, called Warrendale, which does not have nearly the pretty housing stock that East English Village (EEV) has.

Please visit another website, called detroityes dot com!! There are actual residents of the neighborhood who frequent that site, who will tell you more about their experiences.

I have also heard that EEV has a strong homeowner's association, and that the occupied houses are well-kept. The homeowner's association is making an effort to keep vacant, foreclosed houses secured, as the City is having a hard time dealing with vacant houses being stripped.

I would say, please visit the neighborhood. There are people over there who really care about the neighborhood and the city. They would definitely welcome you and your family, and (especially) your business.

Yes, we have higher property taxes, but the mayor established something called Neighborhood Enterprise Zones, which are neighborhoods that have reduced property taxes up to 33% for 12 years, and EEV is one of those neighborhoods.

Also, if you buy a foreclosed house that you bought for $40,000, you can have the house re-assessed and the taxes lowered. Also, we have decent services, and there are some, but not a whole lot of great schools.

[Cherry]

I agree 100% with usroute10, and anyone who writes off EEV is behind the times. Oil prices are higher than ever, and people are moving back to cities. EEV is adjacent to Grosse Pointe and within a 30-minute bicycle ride of downtown. The meeting minutes on the neighborhood association website are full of good information.

[CraigU]

Thank you for your feedback. I have submitted my request to become a registered user at Detroit Yes.

I'm visiting Detroit this week and will see for myself. Coming from Miami, where we have our own reputation, I know individual opinions are quite varied. Our lovely city has a reputation for bad crime which really is a fallacy. Having said that, we have our share of other challenges.

It sounds like Detroit can use more folks with a positive attitude who will focus on what can be done to improve things rather than the opposite. I am originally from Bay City so I am a Michigander at heart. I can tell you that your state is filled with pleasant people, with good values, which is more than I can say for Miami.

Thanks again.

Originally Posted by usroute10

I
Please visit another website, called detroityes dot com!! There are actual residents of the neighborhood who frequent that site, who will tell you more about their experiences.

I would say, please visit the neighborhood. There are people over there who really care about the neighborhood and the city. They would definitely welcome you and your family, and (especially) your business.

.

[detshen]

I have good friends who live there and they have loved it for many years, but they say in the last year or so they are seeing more problems. It's a lovely neighborhood with so much character. I hope the decline is just a temporary setback, but so often in Detroit any decline causes people to flee and then negative influences take over. I hope that doesn't happen. The housing crisis may force people to stick it out, that may be positive in the end.