What should I know about buying a bank-owned house in Detroit, Michigan?I'm a college senior, and for the past few days I've been considering buying a house in Detroit since I've heard that because of the housing crisis, houses are dirt-cheap. I even read in one news article that the average price of a house in Detroit is $7,500! I've been going through the listings... | |
A lot of properties that are listed for ridiculously low prices are actually being auctioned and that's the opening bid (of course, the reserve may be higher). These properties are probably lien sales, where the owner owed some money to a creditor or tax collector, and the creditor placed a lien on the property. But, there may be more than one lien on the property. In this case, whoever buys the property must clear all of the liens as a condition of purchase.
If you're really interested in buying a cheap house in Detroit, get ahold of a real estate professional to get some advice on what's up with these properties. If they do end up working for you as your agent, the seller pays the commission. Or, they might charge some flat fee to help you draw up the paperwork, if the price is so low that there would be negligible commission.
Houses sell for $1 because people want to get out of the taxes. Most of the houses probably have had the walls torn out and the pipes stolen. Detroit is one of the poorest most dangerous cities in the country, once you buy its hard to get out because you cant give property away. Like any other city there are some good parts...stay out of the inner city and do NOT put any deposits down or sign anything until taking a look at the property for yourself along with the neighborhood.
There's a reason Detroit is so cheap
the only job available is criminal. The city has an insanely high crime rate, no decent jobs, extremely high pollution, god-awful schools and a lousy climate
Many of the houses are also what they call "fixer-uppers" Most need serious work before you would be able to move into them
I have never lived in Detroit but it is possible that the homes listed for $1 are going to be auctioned. If you want to find a house that is affordable for you contact a few agents and have them do all the searching for you, its their job and doesn't cost anything. let them know what your price range is and what kind of neighborhood your looking for. Do not commit to any one Real Estate agent until they find the house your looking for. Don't sign any paperwork till the house you want has been found and you seen inside and out. Usually once you commit (sign a paper indicating he will represent you) you have to stick to that one agent and he has to be apart of any deal you choose.
The homes being sold for $1 typically require 10K or more in repairs required to be livable. Also they could have over 10k+ in back taxes that the bank doesnt want to pay. Go to the home, look it over, have a home inspection done, and if necessary bring in contractors to get bids to fix the homes prior to going through with the sale.
But once you get there you won't be able to find a job and you'll succumb to depression and misery! Or get murdered, because Detroit is one of the most murderous cities on the map!
it's because detroit is a really shitty place to live! the schools are some of the worst in the country and the crime is out of control.
be sure that your real estate agent is a pro with this type of home purchase. find the best mortgage lender you can. you can afford to be picky.
