7 ms·

Detroit: If you have a credit card and a want to own an apartment building, it is the place to be. Just needs some elbow grease. There MUST BE opportunity at

Detroit: If you have a credit card and a want to own an apartment building, it is the place to be. Just needs some elbow grease. There MUST BE opportunity at $5 USD per square foot -- but it is hard to visualize. https://www.point2homes.com/US/Multi-Family-For-Sale/MI/Detroit/Durfee/3707-WAGER-Street/51690101.html https://www.point2homes.com/US/Multi-Family-For-Sale/MI/Detr... [I think you can talk this guy down to $10k].

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
discordianfish 8y ago
If they’d throw in a working visa I’d be intrigued
- mywittyname 8y ago
  Starting a construction / rehab company might work.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  This is how you build "new cities" [1]; pair startups with working visas and tie it together with funding and resource commitments (cough cough PlanGrid et el) to bring dilapidated housing back into inventory. Inexpensive corporate housing with you bootstrapping the culture and the community core. [1] https://cities.ycr.org/ https://cities.ycr.org/
- dahdum 8y ago
  If you could pull that off, sounds like an incredible program to me. I don't think anything could revitalize Detroit like large amounts of immigrants would.
  - monocasa 8y ago
    And Detroit already has a large immigrant population, so it's not that much of a culture shock.
    - dahdum 8y ago
      From Wikipedia looks like they are below the national average, but I'd posit that means the upside is that much larger. My favorite example of this process is booming South Florida, where more than half of adults are foreign born. Houston is another great one, with 23% foreign born. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Metro_Detroit#Immigration_and_foreign-born_origins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Metro_Detroit#... > 5% of people within the city of Detroit are immigrants, making the percentage of immigrants in Detroit the lowest such percentage out of those of the 25 largest cities in the United States. The national average is about 13%
      - monocasa 8y ago
        The city itself has a very low immigrant population, but as is listed in your source, surrounding suburbs have very large immigrant populations. For instance Hamtranck has 43% born out of the country.
- nradov 8y ago
  If you have the capital you can basically just buy an EB-5 investor visa. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/immigrant-investor-visas.html https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrat...
  - jonathankoren 8y ago
    All you need is to be a multimillionaire that wants to move to a nigh abandoned section of Detroit.
- rmason 8y ago
  Actually Michigan's Governor proposed to then President Obama a special Detroit visa where immigrants with skills would get a green card in exchange for moving to Detroit for a minimum of five years. Sadly he never got an answer. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/detroit-saved-by-syrian-immigrants-rick-snyder-immigration-gop-213206 https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/detroit-save...
ataturk 8y ago
"Elbow grease" isn't going to fix major structural or infrastructural issues. I'm sure you were being funny, but most of those structures are tear downs.
endorphone 8y ago
Saying it's the place to be seems a bit an overreach. That building, as an example, is in a neighborhood that is just block after block of wasteland, with derelict abandoned houses falling to disrepair, and the empty lots where they removed them before. This particular building likely has no furnace, pipes were probably removed, and almost certainly requires many tens of thousands in upgrades. It seems like illusory opportunity. There are areas of Detroit where some of the grand old homes are being resurrected and there have been opportunities, but this isn't one of them.
- ams6110 8y ago
  No furnace is not a big deal by itself, but likely no windows, no wiring, no plumbing, no fixtures. What remains likely has mold, lead paint, and other hazards. It's at best a gut-to-the-frame-and-rebuild. If severely weather damaged it might even be a tear-down.
  - spc476 8y ago
    The Google Street view [1] shows it needs at least new doors and windows. Maybe even a new outer wall on the second floor (or the very least the ivy removed before it does more damage). [1] https://goo.gl/maps/XmmdxPm45Q32 https://goo.gl/maps/XmmdxPm45Q32
  - msla 8y ago
    And then you're on the hook for taxes and liens, and who knows what other encumbrances there are. Maybe if you really, really wanted that land for some reason.
rmason 8y ago
There's a Detroit entrepreneur who is trying to put together a pool of investors to rehab Detroit rental properties. He details every step he's taking on his blog which unfortunately is down right now. Here's the under 2 minute where he shows off the 5 unit apartment building he bought on Craigslist for $13K and yes there are other opportunities out there just like that one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bapcgs1v62Q&t=4s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bapcgs1v62Q&t=4s
- nikkwong 8y ago
  I think initiatives like the guy this one is taking is incredible, and these types of initiatives are a necessary risk in piecing the city back together. However, there is so much external risk in throwing capital into projects like these. We need the federal government to be on board, we need the local gov to have their heads on straight and to be willing to fight for appropriate legislation that is going to be attractive enough to bring people to the city. So far, I think we haven't seen enough of either. My feelings are therefore mixed. I want to see these localities do well; a rising tide lifts all boats; but the people at the top have demonstrated an ineptitude in being able to create real incentives. You only really see it in the private sector with players like dan gilbert.
  - rmason 8y ago
    Guys like Dan Gilbert and Christopher Illitch can get tax incentives, smaller guys cannot. The little guys, even if they have a multi-year proven record of success often cannot even get the backing of banks.
delinka 8y ago
In what looks like a terrible neighborhood, right across the street from a funeral home. I think gaining tenants will be a challenge.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
rmason 8y ago
Sometimes one guy can rehab an entire neighborhood one house at a time. Opportunities are still there in Detroit and the risks are a lot smaller than ten years ago. You could even be a determined BMW mechanic who backed into a new career supported by his neighbors capital. An only in Detroit story: https://www.freep.com/story/money/real-estate/2018/04/14/virginia-park-historic-district-detroit-neighborhood/393230002/ https://www.freep.com/story/money/real-estate/2018/04/14/vir...
pastor_elm 8y ago
A 4,664 sqft house on .1 acres, and its across from an abandoned parking lot/store or gas station to boot. Only in America!
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
tagami 8y ago
If you want the lowdown on Detroit (and other regions of the country) check out https://makeloveland.com/ https://makeloveland.com/ They focus on helping people keep their homes and away from the county auction.
jackcosgrove 8y ago
Midwestern cities have large real estate taxes relative to younger parts of the country because there are so many legacy pension costs per worker. No free lunch.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

discordianfish 8y ago

If they’d throw in a working visa I’d be intrigued

mywittyname 8y ago
Starting a construction / rehab company might work.
toomuchtodo 8y ago
This is how you build "new cities" [1]; pair startups with working visas and tie it together with funding and resource commitments (cough cough PlanGrid et el) to bring dilapidated housing back into inventory. Inexpensive corporate housing with you bootstrapping the culture and the community core. [1] https://cities.ycr.org/ https://cities.ycr.org/
dahdum 8y ago
If you could pull that off, sounds like an incredible program to me. I don't think anything could revitalize Detroit like large amounts of immigrants would.
- monocasa 8y ago
  And Detroit already has a large immigrant population, so it's not that much of a culture shock.
  - dahdum 8y ago
    From Wikipedia looks like they are below the national average, but I'd posit that means the upside is that much larger. My favorite example of this process is booming South Florida, where more than half of adults are foreign born. Houston is another great one, with 23% foreign born. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Metro_Detroit#Immigration_and_foreign-born_origins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Metro_Detroit#... > 5% of people within the city of Detroit are immigrants, making the percentage of immigrants in Detroit the lowest such percentage out of those of the 25 largest cities in the United States. The national average is about 13%
    - monocasa 8y ago
      The city itself has a very low immigrant population, but as is listed in your source, surrounding suburbs have very large immigrant populations. For instance Hamtranck has 43% born out of the country.
nradov 8y ago
If you have the capital you can basically just buy an EB-5 investor visa. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/immigrant-investor-visas.html https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrat...
- jonathankoren 8y ago
  All you need is to be a multimillionaire that wants to move to a nigh abandoned section of Detroit.
rmason 8y ago
Actually Michigan's Governor proposed to then President Obama a special Detroit visa where immigrants with skills would get a green card in exchange for moving to Detroit for a minimum of five years. Sadly he never got an answer. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/detroit-saved-by-syrian-immigrants-rick-snyder-immigration-gop-213206 https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/detroit-save...

ataturk 8y ago

"Elbow grease" isn't going to fix major structural or infrastructural issues. I'm sure you were being funny, but most of those structures are tear downs.

endorphone 8y ago

Saying it's the place to be seems a bit an overreach. That building, as an example, is in a neighborhood that is just block after block of wasteland, with derelict abandoned houses falling to disrepair, and the empty lots where they removed them before. This particular building likely has no furnace, pipes were probably removed, and almost certainly requires many tens of thousands in upgrades. It seems like illusory opportunity. There are areas of Detroit where some of the grand old homes are being resurrected and there have been opportunities, but this isn't one of them.

ams6110 8y ago
No furnace is not a big deal by itself, but likely no windows, no wiring, no plumbing, no fixtures. What remains likely has mold, lead paint, and other hazards. It's at best a gut-to-the-frame-and-rebuild. If severely weather damaged it might even be a tear-down.
- spc476 8y ago
  The Google Street view [1] shows it needs at least new doors and windows. Maybe even a new outer wall on the second floor (or the very least the ivy removed before it does more damage). [1] https://goo.gl/maps/XmmdxPm45Q32 https://goo.gl/maps/XmmdxPm45Q32
- msla 8y ago
  And then you're on the hook for taxes and liens, and who knows what other encumbrances there are. Maybe if you really, really wanted that land for some reason.

rmason 8y ago

There's a Detroit entrepreneur who is trying to put together a pool of investors to rehab Detroit rental properties. He details every step he's taking on his blog which unfortunately is down right now. Here's the under 2 minute where he shows off the 5 unit apartment building he bought on Craigslist for $13K and yes there are other opportunities out there just like that one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bapcgs1v62Q&t=4s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bapcgs1v62Q&t=4s

nikkwong 8y ago
I think initiatives like the guy this one is taking is incredible, and these types of initiatives are a necessary risk in piecing the city back together. However, there is so much external risk in throwing capital into projects like these. We need the federal government to be on board, we need the local gov to have their heads on straight and to be willing to fight for appropriate legislation that is going to be attractive enough to bring people to the city. So far, I think we haven't seen enough of either. My feelings are therefore mixed. I want to see these localities do well; a rising tide lifts all boats; but the people at the top have demonstrated an ineptitude in being able to create real incentives. You only really see it in the private sector with players like dan gilbert.
- rmason 8y ago
  Guys like Dan Gilbert and Christopher Illitch can get tax incentives, smaller guys cannot. The little guys, even if they have a multi-year proven record of success often cannot even get the backing of banks.

delinka 8y ago

In what looks like a terrible neighborhood, right across the street from a funeral home. I think gaining tenants will be a challenge.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

rmason 8y ago

Sometimes one guy can rehab an entire neighborhood one house at a time. Opportunities are still there in Detroit and the risks are a lot smaller than ten years ago. You could even be a determined BMW mechanic who backed into a new career supported by his neighbors capital. An only in Detroit story: https://www.freep.com/story/money/real-estate/2018/04/14/virginia-park-historic-district-detroit-neighborhood/393230002/ https://www.freep.com/story/money/real-estate/2018/04/14/vir...

pastor_elm 8y ago

A 4,664 sqft house on .1 acres, and its across from an abandoned parking lot/store or gas station to boot. Only in America!

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

tagami 8y ago

If you want the lowdown on Detroit (and other regions of the country) check out https://makeloveland.com/ https://makeloveland.com/ They focus on helping people keep their homes and away from the county auction.

jackcosgrove 8y ago

Midwestern cities have large real estate taxes relative to younger parts of the country because there are so many legacy pension costs per worker. No free lunch.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]