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>There is a surplus of abandoned housing in Baltimore, Detroit, and lots of other rust belt towns. That's not housing. "Housing" means places where people are
by shiroiushi 2y ago
>There is a surplus of abandoned housing in Baltimore, Detroit, and lots of other rust belt towns.
That's not housing. "Housing" means places where people are able to live. If you've seen pictures of the abandoned houses in Detroit, you'd know that these simply do not meet the definition. No, they don't need investment in refurb, they need to be demolished; they're completely unsuitable for human habitation after so many years of neglect and decay, and it would make no economic sense at all to try to save them.
- thephyber 2y agoMeh. You’re making a distinction without a difference. It’s a dwelling on a parcel zoned for a residence. Lots of rebuilds in my neighborhood are full demolitions. The reason people don’t buy and refurb the Detroit / Baltimore stock of dilapidated properties is because (1) chain of custody it hard to identify because the property has been abandoned so long and (2) there are lots of unknown risks (liens, high utilities costs, neighborhoods full of similar dilapidated homes, undesirable neighbors).