James Melton ended up at an estate sale on Outer Drive this spring
and that got him thinking about looking for a bargain house in Detroit.
An online search popped up a five-bedroom house in Indian Village for $19,900. Melton, 49, communications manager for Inforum, asked his Facebook friends to talk him down. "This has to be a bad idea, right?"
His friends expressed concern about potential mold, broken pipes, old wiring, huge heating bills and foundation issues. Others thought the price was right, no matter what he found inside.
• Read more: Freep.com/buyfor2012
As median home prices seem parked below $10,000 in the city, some buyers say the time is right to claim a piece of Detroit.
Those buyers include a couple who relocated from Pennsylvania last year to buy a three-bedroom brick house on Detroit's west side for less than $60,000 that needed no work and a California couple who bought a fixer-upper in Indian Village last year that has taught them a thing or two about contractors, patience and the beauty of the city.
"This is like the cost of a car," Melton said about the Indian Village home. He, his wife and 10-year-old son have a house in East English Village that's lost three-fourths of its value and has made him feel stuck.
"One of the options is to take a chance on a Detroit place that is selling very low," Melton said. "The money pit aspect of it worries me more than the Detroit aspect. I've been living in Detroit so long maybe I'm used to it. You have to be smart. You can't willy-nilly buy a house in Detroit. You have to know about the neighborhood."
When he first moved to the city 15 years ago, he looked for areas with strong neighborhood associations, took note of how the neighbors tended their lawns and toured the area at night to make sure they still liked it.
He said the biggest drawback to living in the city hasn't been crime, the schools or the city's budget. It's been the higher insurance costs.
"I think the advantages have outweighed the disadvantages," he said.
Much of the inventory for sale in Detroit is priced under $75,000, according to a first-quarter report by Real Estate One in Southfield.
During the first quarter, there was a 4.7-month supply of houses priced under $75,000. A normal market is from three to six months of supply and a buyer's market is more than six months of supply.
The city overall had a 4.9-month supply of houses for sale in the first three months of the year at the current sales pace.
Tim McGary, associate broker at Prestige Realty and Investments in Farmington Hills, sold a brick colonial with three bedrooms and one bathroom on the east side in April for $2,000. The privately owned home had been on the market for six days and was listed for $1,999.
McGary said that buyers can still find houses that are well-built for under $10,000 and some in nicer areas. They will likely be stripped of the copper plumbing, hot water tank, furnace and maybe even the sinks and toilets.
"To get a house like this livable, if they put in $10,000 on the high end
they can have a very nice house," McGary said. "The quality of the
homes in the city of Detroit has other cities beat. And if you find that
quality of homes in the suburbs it is quite expensive."
He said that Rosedale Park is one of the better neighborhoods in which to find good bargains.
Trista Redfield, a Realtor at Century 21 Riverpointe in Grosse Ile, said many of the homes under $10,000 are missing things like kitchen cabinets and radiators. She also sees a lot of U.S. Housing and Urban Development homes.
"Most HUD homes in Detroit are under $10,000. Once you cross over into Harper Woods or Redford you are up into the $20,000 or $30,000 range for the same house," Redfield said.
That price will buy a brick bungalow with up to 1,200 square feet with no furnace or hot water heater, she said.
"But they tend to be good, solid homes with basements and some character," she said. "We've seen some with fireplaces and built-ins, but those tend to go quickly."
With family on the west side, Detroit's Rosedale Park neighborhood came up pretty quickly as a place to look. The couple attended a neighborhood open house last year and wanted the first one they walked into. The brick 1 1/2-story home has three bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, nearly 1,400 square feet, hardwood floors throughout, solid wood doors and some of the original hardware. The purchase price was $55,000 and it had been rehabbed by the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp., and had a new furnace, windows, air-conditioning and refinished floors.
"We love it. We just like the variety and the reality of the city, you know," Blake Maurice said. "It's a price that is very accessible to the average person."
Novi Realtor Mark Zawaideh of Keller Williams Realty said that investors are making most of the purchases in the city and that is beginning to change because of the falling prices elsewhere. He said investors are able to pick up houses in places like Garden City and Westland for the prices they used to pay in Detroit -- $20,000 to $50,000. The suburban rentals attract better renters because of the schools, he said.
And that could leave more good buys available for owner-occupants.
"With a median sales price of $9,000, if that doesn't attract someone I don't know what will," he said.
The low prices
were part of what lured Aislinn Scofield and Scott Koue, a San
Francisco couple, to Detroit for a vacation in the fall of 2010. Once
back in California, Scofield found a five-bedroom Indian Village house
on an auction site and put in a bid she thought was almost too
ridiculous to be accepted.
Turns out it wasn't. The couple ended up buying the house without seeing it for $50,000. The house had been vacant for two years, so it needed some work. Through May, the couple had spent $60,000 to $70,000 on repairs for the 3,600-square-foot house with four bathrooms and two fireplaces built in 1909.
"It's a simple house, but we love it," Scofield said.
The work they have done was extensive, including replacing burst copper pipes and opening up 10 walls and three ceilings to do it, replacing broken radiators with a forced-air system, and fixing a second-floor back porch.
"Even after all the work, the house will be a bargain," Koue said. "There are times when I wonder what I was thinking. We both came here not sure what to expect. It turned into being a really happy experience."
But there are still a number of foreclosures and short sales.
"Unfortunately on short sales, the banks take too long to make a decision. If they picked up the pace, a lot of these houses would sell and they wouldn't be trashed," he said.
Austin Black II, president and broker at City Living Detroit in Midtown, said that inventories are getting slim in some of the city's best neighborhoods such as Palmer Woods and Sherwood Forest.
"If you look at University District, Indian Village, Boston Edison, those have traditionally been Detroit's strongest neighborhoods," he said. "People who bought at the peak of the market won't even consider selling until the market improves more."
And at Willys Overland Lofts, the condo development Black has listed, six units were reserved this spring ranging from $200,000 to $400,000, he said.
"For most of the people I'm working with, the space and the location seem to be more important than anything else," Black said. "People have a more positive outlook about the economy, and people are prepared and willing to invest in real estate again.
"Yes, there are still $100 houses in Detroit, but not in the neighborhoods you necessarily want to live in."
Contact Greta Guest: 313-223-4192 or gguest@freepress.com
More Details: About this series
The Free Press looked at a sampling of closed sales and data over the past year in Detroit and spoke with local real estate experts to determine the state of the market.
This is the fourth installment in a series about housing markets around the state.
An online search popped up a five-bedroom house in Indian Village for $19,900. Melton, 49, communications manager for Inforum, asked his Facebook friends to talk him down. "This has to be a bad idea, right?"
His friends expressed concern about potential mold, broken pipes, old wiring, huge heating bills and foundation issues. Others thought the price was right, no matter what he found inside.
• Read more: Freep.com/buyfor2012
As median home prices seem parked below $10,000 in the city, some buyers say the time is right to claim a piece of Detroit.
Those buyers include a couple who relocated from Pennsylvania last year to buy a three-bedroom brick house on Detroit's west side for less than $60,000 that needed no work and a California couple who bought a fixer-upper in Indian Village last year that has taught them a thing or two about contractors, patience and the beauty of the city.
"This is like the cost of a car," Melton said about the Indian Village home. He, his wife and 10-year-old son have a house in East English Village that's lost three-fourths of its value and has made him feel stuck.
"One of the options is to take a chance on a Detroit place that is selling very low," Melton said. "The money pit aspect of it worries me more than the Detroit aspect. I've been living in Detroit so long maybe I'm used to it. You have to be smart. You can't willy-nilly buy a house in Detroit. You have to know about the neighborhood."
When he first moved to the city 15 years ago, he looked for areas with strong neighborhood associations, took note of how the neighbors tended their lawns and toured the area at night to make sure they still liked it.
He said the biggest drawback to living in the city hasn't been crime, the schools or the city's budget. It's been the higher insurance costs.
"I think the advantages have outweighed the disadvantages," he said.
Much of the inventory for sale in Detroit is priced under $75,000, according to a first-quarter report by Real Estate One in Southfield.
During the first quarter, there was a 4.7-month supply of houses priced under $75,000. A normal market is from three to six months of supply and a buyer's market is more than six months of supply.
The city overall had a 4.9-month supply of houses for sale in the first three months of the year at the current sales pace.
Under $10,000
So what can you get for under $10,000? Realtors warn that you get what you pay for so expect to put some work into these houses.Tim McGary, associate broker at Prestige Realty and Investments in Farmington Hills, sold a brick colonial with three bedrooms and one bathroom on the east side in April for $2,000. The privately owned home had been on the market for six days and was listed for $1,999.
McGary said that buyers can still find houses that are well-built for under $10,000 and some in nicer areas. They will likely be stripped of the copper plumbing, hot water tank, furnace and maybe even the sinks and toilets.
"To get a house like this livable, if they put in $10,000 on the high end
they can have a very nice house," McGary said. "The quality of the
homes in the city of Detroit has other cities beat. And if you find that
quality of homes in the suburbs it is quite expensive."He said that Rosedale Park is one of the better neighborhoods in which to find good bargains.
Trista Redfield, a Realtor at Century 21 Riverpointe in Grosse Ile, said many of the homes under $10,000 are missing things like kitchen cabinets and radiators. She also sees a lot of U.S. Housing and Urban Development homes.
"Most HUD homes in Detroit are under $10,000. Once you cross over into Harper Woods or Redford you are up into the $20,000 or $30,000 range for the same house," Redfield said.
That price will buy a brick bungalow with up to 1,200 square feet with no furnace or hot water heater, she said.
"But they tend to be good, solid homes with basements and some character," she said. "We've seen some with fireplaces and built-ins, but those tend to go quickly."
$10,000 to $99,999
Blake Maurice, 33, moved back to the area from Pennsylvania last year with his wife, Amy, 31. Blake, who works for a payroll company, and Amy, who works at Starbucks, knew they wanted to live in the city. Amy Maurice grew up in the Brightmoor neighborhood.With family on the west side, Detroit's Rosedale Park neighborhood came up pretty quickly as a place to look. The couple attended a neighborhood open house last year and wanted the first one they walked into. The brick 1 1/2-story home has three bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms, nearly 1,400 square feet, hardwood floors throughout, solid wood doors and some of the original hardware. The purchase price was $55,000 and it had been rehabbed by the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp., and had a new furnace, windows, air-conditioning and refinished floors.
"We love it. We just like the variety and the reality of the city, you know," Blake Maurice said. "It's a price that is very accessible to the average person."
Novi Realtor Mark Zawaideh of Keller Williams Realty said that investors are making most of the purchases in the city and that is beginning to change because of the falling prices elsewhere. He said investors are able to pick up houses in places like Garden City and Westland for the prices they used to pay in Detroit -- $20,000 to $50,000. The suburban rentals attract better renters because of the schools, he said.
And that could leave more good buys available for owner-occupants.
"With a median sales price of $9,000, if that doesn't attract someone I don't know what will," he said.
The low prices
were part of what lured Aislinn Scofield and Scott Koue, a San
Francisco couple, to Detroit for a vacation in the fall of 2010. Once
back in California, Scofield found a five-bedroom Indian Village house
on an auction site and put in a bid she thought was almost too
ridiculous to be accepted.Turns out it wasn't. The couple ended up buying the house without seeing it for $50,000. The house had been vacant for two years, so it needed some work. Through May, the couple had spent $60,000 to $70,000 on repairs for the 3,600-square-foot house with four bathrooms and two fireplaces built in 1909.
"It's a simple house, but we love it," Scofield said.
The work they have done was extensive, including replacing burst copper pipes and opening up 10 walls and three ceilings to do it, replacing broken radiators with a forced-air system, and fixing a second-floor back porch.
"Even after all the work, the house will be a bargain," Koue said. "There are times when I wonder what I was thinking. We both came here not sure what to expect. It turned into being a really happy experience."
$100,000 and up
J.R. Szwarc, a Realtor with Re/Max Gallery in Livonia, said he's been getting more phone calls from buyers who want to look for houses. He just sold one in the University District for $129,000 that was listed for $139,000.But there are still a number of foreclosures and short sales.
"Unfortunately on short sales, the banks take too long to make a decision. If they picked up the pace, a lot of these houses would sell and they wouldn't be trashed," he said.
Austin Black II, president and broker at City Living Detroit in Midtown, said that inventories are getting slim in some of the city's best neighborhoods such as Palmer Woods and Sherwood Forest.
"If you look at University District, Indian Village, Boston Edison, those have traditionally been Detroit's strongest neighborhoods," he said. "People who bought at the peak of the market won't even consider selling until the market improves more."
And at Willys Overland
Lofts, the condo development Black has listed, six units were reserved this spring ranging from $200,000 to $400,000, he said."For most of the people I'm working with, the space and the location seem to be more important than anything else," Black said. "People have a more positive outlook about the economy, and people are prepared and willing to invest in real estate again.
"Yes, there are still $100 houses in Detroit, but not in the neighborhoods you necessarily want to live in."
Contact Greta Guest: 313-223-4192 or gguest@freepress.com
More Details: About this series
The Free Press looked at a sampling of closed sales and data over the past year in Detroit and spoke with local real estate experts to determine the state of the market.
This is the fourth installment in a series about housing markets around the state.
Sun Nov 18 Detroit Land Contract
Traverse City, MI: 2 Quality Cabins! - $395000 / 4br - (Spider Lake)
What Makes Us The Best Land Contract Homes In Detroit?
- - Bad credit or no credit is okay
- - We can show you how to have your property taxes paid for you
- - We can show you how to knock off 3-5 years of payments
- - Work directly with the owners - no middlemen
- - Fixed interest rates - never worry about an interest rate adjustment
- - No application fee's - ever
- - Fast and easy approvals
- - 12 Year track record
All Detroit Land Contract Homes
DETROIT EAST SIDE
** Homeowners Looking To Sell
Their Home on Land Contract Click Here**
Click here to download our no fee application in .pdf format
Click here to download our no fee application in .pdf format
16020 Coram - East Side 3 Bed 1.5 Bath Bungalow
| - Super nice
bungalow - 3 Bedrooms - 1.5 Bathrooms - Separate living & dining rooms - 2 Car garage - Huge fenced in yard - 1,120 Square feet (estimate) - Beautiful knotty pine panel in master bed - Map - PHOTO TOUR & MORE INFO! |
Basic Land Contract
Information - $500 down - $375 per month principle & interest - 15 year option available - Home does need work (more info) Contact Us For More Info / Showing |
If you are a homeowner looking to sell your home on land contract but are not sure about how to get started - it can be as easy as calling us at 248-805-1187 or sending us an email at home@bestdetroitlandcontract.com.
We have helped many homeowners just like you. Some are local who live in the metro-Detroit area and others live 5,000 miles away more in the United Kingdom or Sweden or Australia.
We know the process can be daunting we were there once too but over the past 4 years we have developed a proven process to sell almost any home on land contract - doesn't matter the condition or location for the most part. Can't hurt to give it a try so call us at 248-805-1187 or send us an email at home@bestdetroitlandcontract.com and we can help you start the process of selling your home on land contract today.
We have a very simple process:
-
- Take a look at our homes online and find the ones that you have an interest in
-
- Drive by the homes you want to see and check it out in person, look at the block, walk around the home if you like - even peek into the windows if you like. As always be careful - our homes should be vacant but if not please let us know so we can take care of any issues you may find
- If you like a home and want to see the inside call us and we will arrange for your very own private tour
- If after you have seen the interior and exterior of the home you can fill out our no fee application (call us we are happy to email, fax or mail it to you) and return along with a copy of your state ID or drivers license and proof of income (award letters, check stubs, direct deposit proof etc...)
- After we receive your info give us 48-72 hours to review
- If approved (most people are) you can move in as soon as you have the initial funds ready
Over 20 years of roofing, siding, insulation & gutter repair & installation service in Detroit Michigan. Save today and schedule your Free estimate Siding Contractor Detroi.
ReplyDeletewww.preclosinginspection.com
ReplyDeletedetroit home inspection for rental registration and lead based paint inspection and risk assessment
ReplyDelete