[key2success]

Why is Flint houses so darn cheap, I mean really cheap??? besides the water ordeal is it something wrong with them?

Here are some houses I searched

Flint, MI Real Estate & Homes for Sale | Trulia

[MikeBear]

Why are houses in Detroit now so cheap?

Because it's a hell-hole slum, and so is a large part of Flint.

[key2success]

Originally Posted by MikeBear

Why are houses in Detroit now so cheap?

Because it's a hell-hole slum, and so is a large part of Flint.

. In flint, the houses fore sale are actually very nice

[MikeBear]

Originally Posted by key2success

. In flint, the houses fore sale are actually very nice

That's true in a lot of cases, I agree. That doesn't change the fact that the city of Flint is a terrible place to live, and that reflects itself in the price of houses.

It's been a terrible place to live since way before the water issue, also. My mother-in-law was born there, I was born 28 miles from there, and live 70 miles away from it right now.

[Heath V]

Wow, those prices are unreal!!

[Bhaalspawn]

Originally Posted by MikeBear

Why are houses in Detroit now so cheap?

Because it's a hell-hole slum, and so is a large part of Flint.

...and now the water is hazardous. Few people are going to want to move their family into a house where drinking the water could potentially result in mental retardation.

[belleislerunner]

It actually might be the best time to buy in Flint.

You don't "buy high" and sell low.

Candice Miller has proposed a $1 billion funding measure in Congress to fix all the pipes/infrastructure of Flint to get rid of the leaded pipes. We should all be rooting for that measure. Every dollar that the Feds provide is one less dollar that we in Michigan have to cough up (i.e. $ to be spent fixing roads, parks, education etc).

To put it in perspective - when Hurricane Sandy hit NYC/NJ - the feds donated $50 billion just to repair shorelines/beach towns. Here we have life/death or at least much more serious matters - no reason we can't get this funded by the Feds.

Then it takes 2-5 years to replace all the infrastructure. Boom - you have state of the art water systems monitored by the world and a house you own for 12K. Why wouldn't you do that?!?!?

[michmoldman]

No jobs, and a lot of flint is just nasty. If you drive through it you become very depressed..no kidding, so why would anyone want to buy a house there. And if you did move there, to where those houses are so cheap you have to worry about crime every single day. Plus, the houses are so nasty, and no one takes care of their yard, its just an endless feeling of ...blah.....very depressing. I wouldn't buy a house there for $10, heck...I wouldn't live there if you paid me a million dollars. Now not all of Flint is like this, and I actually kinda enjoyed some parts of it, but you won't find those houses in the nicer neighborhoods.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by key2success

Why is Flint houses so darn cheap, I mean really cheap??? besides the water ordeal is it something wrong with them?

Here are some houses I searched

Flint, MI Real Estate & Homes for Sale | Trulia

Much like the city of Detroit, the city of Flint has lost half its population since its peak in 1960 (196,000 people down to estimated 98,000 today). General Motors used to have a staggering 80,000 employees in Flint and Genessee County back in the late 60's and 70's. They now have only 7500. Like a lot of Northern industrial cities that exploded with large employers (Eastman Kodak and Rochester, NY), those fortunes fell with increased globalization starting in the 90's.

GM presence shrinks in Genesee County, the place of its birth | MLive.com

The reason why housing prices are so low is because basically the majority of people who live in the city of Flint, HAVE to live there. They have no means to move, and no place to move to. Urban by necessity, vs urban by choice.

I agree with belleislerunner. If Flint gets a state-of-the-art water system paid for by the Federal Government, things could definitely look up for them. The downside in these situations is that in these circumstances, like the aftermath of a large hurricane or tornado, you get a lot of vultures that prey on the victims.

[Retroit]

Supply vs. Demand

(At least I learned something from Economics 101. )