All Forum Posts by: Stephen Lovett

Love those numbers!  What a great find.

Hi @Account Closed.  I purchased my first property through the Wayne County Auction last fall.  I did not have to pay any back-taxes or other liens and after only about $900 in light rehab, I have a property that delivers $800/month.  The house is an 1100 square foot brick ranch with full basement.  It was occupied by the prior residents at the time, and everything functioned including the newer furnace and hot water heater.  I understand that my house was in much better condition than most and that my experience may not be typical.  For those who have an eye to judge the full condition of a house by looking a the exterior, you improve your odds of finding a gem.  I will definitely be back to pick up another property at the auction this year.

I agree with @Joshua Woolls

Diamonds in the rough!

The large companies are no competition however.  Because many of them are not local (many international) and they don't know the area or have boots on the ground.  They buy a lot of the worst stuff in bulk  and then wind up sitting on it then having to sell even cheaper.  Let them buy the big bulk stuff and you look for the needles into he haystacks.

Hi Shaun,

Thanks for the warm welcome.   Yeah rents are quite generous still given the price of properties.  I have found that the properties sold through the Detroit Land Bank (where they auction 2 a day) are going very much at retail values or above.  This is good for the city, but as an investor, I don't really consider those.  The tax auction has the best deals, but its more risky as you can't get into the properties first.  Of course, always drive the house and the neighborhood at different times.   There's lots of great inventory out there, it's more of knowing the city and the different neighborhoods to invest smartly.  If I can help you guys, reach out to me. 

@Duke Marquiss

I'd be happy to check them out.  Can you proved a list to me with any additional data that you have on them?

@Account Closed

I'm not really following your train of thought.  We're all capitalists as investors.  There's nothing wrong with that.  In terms of discussing deals, that's one of the purposes of BP.  It's encouraged.  In terms of disappearing, I don't really understand what you're referring to.  Logic would predict that investors who do their due diligence to find deals that they know are good will be around and in the game for a long time.  Keep in mind that real estate is all local.  Some areas have advantages and disadvantages that others don't.  I live in a very uncommon market where deals are just different than most places.

@Scott K. - Yeah the Royal Oak prices are going up at an amazing rate.  I won't add any Royal Oak unless I get a good wholesale deal, which are hard to find.  I would flip here though.  For rentals, I'm focusing now on other areas like Madison Heights and Detroit.  I've started looking at Warren too. 

Wow Richard!!! That deal is truly amazing.  I'd like to hear more abut that!  There is so much opportunity here that I can't imagine doing this in any other area.  It's nice to have The option to own outright for what most people use just for downpayments.