Detroit Current Events
Retired Landlord/Author · Commerce Township, MI · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
I receive lots of questions regarding Detroit. Here is a link to the current events in Detroit.
http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/04/03/gutfeld-concealed-carry-permits-only-piece-brings-peace
Nancy Neville
I think that Nancy is pointing out that violent crimes impose large costs on communities through lower property values, higher insurance premiums, and reduced investment in high-crime areas.
Detroit has a high crime rate. The high crime rate lowers property values in Detroit.
I think it was a backhanded way to try to slander the city. Everyone knows that Detroit has high crime rates and there are issues in the city.
The fact of the matter is though that the police Chief is from Maine and he attributes the relative safety of Portland Maine(hardly a war zone) to the fact that so many people had concealed carry permits. Nancy felt the need to pull a misleading headline out of the article and sensationalize it. It's almost as if she has a preconceived notion of what the city is like and she had an agenda and wanted everyone to agree with her.
Something that I did not understand about Detroit until I moved to this area is that there is a serious City Vs. Suburb divide. I am certain that it can be traced back to the race riots, but unlike the rest of the country, the Detroit metro never moved on. Now, we have a couple of generations of people that have fled the city and never go back unless it is to attend a sporting event or a concert. They literally sit in their homes in the burbs and spew rhetoric of hate and fear. Some of this hate and fear is justified and some is not.
The fact of the matter is that Detroit does have issues. But much like every city in America, there are some areas that have more issues than others. There are more "bad" areas. Less "good" areas, and the good areas in Detroit are not as good as the "good" areas in other cities. You would never know this speaking to many of the people in the burbs though.
Times, they are a changing though. There are already areas of the city that have started the rapid ascent. There are areas that have stabilized. And there are even areas that are already "back". That being said, there are areas that are bad, and will never be better until they are wiped off the map and rebuilt.
In the last year and a half, Dan Gilbert has moved 17,000 Jobs downtown and he has incentives in place for workers to live in the city. The Illitch's(Little Ceasers, RedWings, Olympia entertainment) have moved 11,000(more) jobs downtown. Mars Advertising moved their headquarters dowtown. Ally financial just announced their move to downtown... That's 35,000(ish) white collar jobs moving into the city in a little over a year.
Nancy's post is designed to create fear. What good does that do anyone? It's unproductive at best. If we want to look at the city realistically, we could spend all day talking about the bad(and good things) that are going on, and we could have constructive conversations about how to fix some of the city's(many) problems.
There is always going to be the good, bad and the ugly in any metropolitan area.
The only advice I have for an investor is come see Detroit for yourself, then you can make a determination if this is the place for you.
I don't believe people intentionally try to scare people away. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but the best thing is to let people form their own.
People that I have met that came here to see Detroit for themselves have stated that it is nothing like they heard about from other people or the media.
New York was a slum in the 70's and I'm sure it was all everyone talked about.
Detroit definitely has a long road ahead and without private investment it will not make a comeback.
There are opportunities for anyone looking to invest here. You just have to pick a niche and understand your risk vs reward.
If you're looking to buy a $1,000 house and rent it out your going to attract $1,000 people.
There are many areas to invest in the metro detroit area. East, West, Downriver, North and inside the City. There is an abundance of Real Estate available here. Just pick an area based on your criteria, strategy and financials.
Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
You guys that trash me about talking about Detroit, if it's so darn good, why aren't you living there? Lot's of beautiful houses there. I don't see you knocking down the doors to move there. And their cheap too?
Just sayin!
Nancy Neville
I live in Detroit!
My main complaint is that Detroit is coming back way too fast!
You guys that trash me about talking about Detroit, if it's so darn good, why aren't you living there? Lot's of beautiful houses there. I don't see you knocking down the doors to move there. And their cheap too?
Just sayin!
Nancy Neville
I live in Detroit!
My main complaint is that Detroit is coming back way too fast!
Be careful. That doesn't jive with some people's worldview. Everyone knows Detroit is only filled with criminals and corrupt politicians.
I have had many BPer's contact me about Detroit because I am truthful. I am not going to blow smoke up them.
I have given 7 tours of Detroit all for free. I do it because I enjoy it and I also don't want to see out of state people end up with empty worthless houses. I see that as a terrible thing for the investor and also for the city. We don't need anymore empty bombed out houses.
Detroit is filled with lots of criminals. That's one of the reasons they chose to live there. Detroit is filled with unskilled uneducated slackers that think free water is a human right.
Brightmore is not very nice. Boston Edison is blocks away from warzones. Indian Village is not a good neighborhood for investors that are into rentals. The cost and upkeep on those huge old houses would be a nightmare. The entry cost point would make it tough to make money on them. East English Village is next to Morningside. Morningside is a warzone.
You mentions neighborhoods that would be useless for buy and hold investors.
University District would make sense. But now people are trying to expand that district thinking that W of Livernois is the University District which is not true.
The problem is all the extra cost to the tenants that live in Detroit. Higher taxes (payroll). Higher car insurance.
I want my tenants to be able to have some cushion in the monthly budget. The cost is just to high to live in the city.
I have had many BPer's contact me about Detroit because I am truthful. I am not going to blow smoke up them.
I have given 7 tours of Detroit all for free. I do it because I enjoy it and I also don't want to see out of state people end up with empty worthless houses. I see that as a terrible thing for the investor and also for the city. We don't need anymore empty bombed out houses.
Detroit is filled with lots of criminals. That's one of the reasons they chose to live there. Detroit is filled with unskilled uneducated slackers that think free water is a human right.
Brightmore is not very nice. Boston Edison is blocks away from warzones. Indian Village is not a good neighborhood for investors that are into rentals. The cost and upkeep on those huge old houses would be a nightmare. The entry cost point would make it tough to make money on them. East English Village is next to Morningside. Morningside is a warzone.
You mentions neighborhoods that would be useless for buy and hold investors.
University District would make sense. But now people are trying to expand that district thinking that W of Livernois is the University District which is not true.
The problem is all the extra cost to the tenants that live in Detroit. Higher taxes (payroll). Higher car insurance.
I want my tenants to be able to have some cushion in the monthly budget. The cost is just to high to live in the city.
I don't disagree with anything you said. I know the city fairly well, and I do not think that most(there are some, but I agree with you, why deal with the city when the burbs are better for buy and hold) areas of the city are good rental areas. But, there are many types of real estate investing. I do think there are areas of the city that are good areas for flipping and I do think there are good areas of the city to live.
I would have not taken any offense if the OP talked about her experiences as a landlord in he city. I took offense that she linked an unrelated article and tried to misrepresent what the article was saying to insinuate something about the city.