[baystater]

Outside buyers drawn to Detroit's foreclosed homes - Yahoo! News

Though I personally am not big on putting my money into Detroit. There seems to be other carpetbaggers that are. I think they see the same potential Michigan has as I do. It will take time. But Michigan does have a lot to offer.

[MittenDweller82]

Well..the U.K investors probably have no conception of the amount of time it will take Detroit to turn around. Most homes in the $1800 range will cost many times more to prepare them to be a suitable place to live/rent...not to mention every new piece of home improvement material will be stolen off the property within days...not worth it.

[DDevil]

Well, at least that will create some jobs for the people working to renovate these houses and these investors my end up making a few houses livable.

[Cliffie]

Originally Posted by baystater

Outside buyers drawn to Detroit's foreclosed homes - Yahoo! News

Though I personally am not big on putting my money into Detroit. There seems to be other carpetbaggers that are. I think they see the same potential Michigan has as I do. It will take time. But Michigan does have a lot to offer.

Well I'm glad somebody thinks so -- even carpetbaggers are welcome to invest at this point, as far as I'm concerned.

[Bideshi]

I hope they come well armed and in sufficient numbers.

[Coldjensens]

There are rnetable homes selling for $35,000 or less. I would not personally care to live in them, but they are rentable. As long as you find a decent tenant and the neighborhood does not collaspe like so many others, it woudl nto be a bad investment, esepcially long term. However you need to be selective and have a good contact who knows not only the condition of neighborhoods but the direction that they are heading.

[allistercrowly]

Originally Posted by MittenDweller82

Well..the U.K investors probably have no conception of the amount of time it will take Detroit to turn around. Most homes in the $1800 range will cost many times more to prepare them to be a suitable place to live/rent...not to mention every new piece of home improvement material will be stolen off the property within days...not worth it.

Even if they do all this, most of those homes are in neighborhoods that will never be a desirable place to live. I think if you are going to invest, there are many places better to do so. Homes are said to need to take a 50% dump to bring them into line. I personally would buy in Florida. I think it has the capacity to make a recovery much faster than Michigan. People will always want to vacation in Florida, but not that many people want to visit Michigan. So Michigan is always reliant on its industrial base. Industry will take longer to recover than tourism. Florida also gets a lot from around the world visiting.

[windfarmer]

Sometimes I wonder if these are planted news articles. i go back to detroit all the time.. have seen anyone buy anything in substantial numbers to write an article about. it's positive spin on a wholly negative reality. sad really..

[magellan]

I was just having this discussion with someone tonight who worked for the City of Detroit, the State and most recently the city of Grand Rapids. My point was, it doesn't matter if you can buy homes in Detroit for $10,000, or $1000, or $10. Am I going to have a decent civilized government taking care of things? Will my trash get collected? Will the police come if I call? Can I proceed through a stop sign not worrying if someone will plow through in the other direction and kill me? Will I constantly hear of someone elected to office stealing my money and forging crooked deals? Will the buses pretty much run on time? I can deal with blight, or empty lots that need to be cleaned, or parks that need new play equipment. Those things can be fixed.

If, and that's a big IF, if all of those things could be counted on, then Detroit would stand a fighting chance. Then I could gather up 10 of my friends to buy up a bunch of houses on my same street (strength and safety in numbers). People who took pride in their homes and were engaged in making Detroit a better place. And basically pay cash for them, mortgage free! Imagine! Then 10 of their friends, and 10 of their friends, street by street, block by block, take back the city. Give special Veteran Loan programs to all the returning Iraq Veterans to buy in the City of Detroit. Whatever.

I personally could probably fill 10 homes in the city of Detroit with homeowners (not renters).

But I'm not going to waste my time getting all of those friends together, if I know the city government is going to take a big s**t on me every chance it gets.