Topic: Crowdfund Homes in Detroit? - page 4. (Read 7273 times)

they better pay me 5000 in taxes to live in detroit....

The infrastructure is very worn, but true that could be fixed more easily than building it all from scratch. It would be neat, but there are a few things that could break the project. First, we would need to create jobs so people could work and afford to live there. We would also need to repair the houses to liveable conditions. So while it may only cost $500 to buy a house, it would still cost many thousands to repair them. Then we would have to deal with crime. Those in areas that weren't improving would be targeting the area that is. I have a feeling the few police officers left in Detroit would be hanging around our section, because we would be the only ones paying taxes, but security would still be an issue. I suppose its doable, but we have to first figure out how to recoup our costs so we can continue expanding.

As for property taxes, I'm sure we could just talk to the mayor and perhaps find some business loophole that would lower the taxes for our project while we were getting everything set up. I would think they would be more interested in a reduced tax rate, rather than none at all.


edit* Also, did a bit of looking into it, rather than aiming at the $500 houses, I'd say aiming at the $10,000-$20,000 houses is a better plan. There are actually quite a few of them that don't look like they are in ghettos. Lets get this one.

http://www.trulia.com/property/3086549069-18620-Muirland-St-Detroit-MI-48221

they can be included I mean $5,000 + property taxes isn't going to break the bank.

property taxes

The reason I had Detroit in mind is the transportation and infrastructer is already there. Mainly, we snatch up some land/property and convert into a bitcoin shanty town to start and spreading out as we go. At least that is my thinking. 

I have a feeling this might be our only chance.

I'm not sure knocking down old shoddy buildings for farmland is a very good idea. What do you think the chances are that the old buildings you are demolishing were painted with lead paint? Even if you disposed of the house materials in the proper way (hazmat precautions required, very very expensive) the ground around where the houses were demolished would be unusable due to the contact it had with the house in standing condition.

I think it would be incredibly neat to have a Bitcoin crowd funding project buy up an area, but I think we may have better luck in another area that is insanely cheap. I have often though of buying a lot of land out in a very rural area, and then creating a large business there. Jobs would attract people to move there, and essentially grow the area into a town. Detroit may still be feasible, but perhaps with a different plan than funding by farming.

we need capitulation first before the buying's ripe!

Lol you fools! I can't count how many times people have ripped off other people on selling property in Detroit, don't think I have heard of a single investor making profit.

I'm trying to convince my wife to move to Detroit.

Got a lot of family there and would definitely welcome the cold climate... my mining rig would love to have a home in a basement.

For those talking about repurposing large parts of the city for farming etc., you're right there is something to that. People should check out some guys actually doing it:

http://theurbanfarmingguys.com/about (with video)


IMO these kinds of small start over communities are ideal places to integrate Bitcoin and bootstrap strong local economies.

Before you get all excited about the prospect of investing in Detroit, read this:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-07-21/25-facts-about-fall-detroit-will-leave-you-shaking-your-head


A few excerpts:

7.) At this point, there are approximately 78,000 abandoned homes in the city.

11.) If you can believe it, 60 percent of all children in the city of Detroit are living in poverty.

6.) There are lots of houses available for sale in Detroit right now for $500 or less.

23.) The murder rate in Detroit is 11 times higher than it is in New York City.

8.) About one-third of Detroit's 140 square miles is either vacant or derelict.


You can live here:



And maybe the kids can go to school here:




Have fun out there.

That is a good idea if there really is that much money in farming.  It is great for the city as it keeps money in that would be leaving otherwise.  The question is how would the city treat the property tax.  In Maryland you get a huge DROP in the property tax if farming is actually going on and it is ZONE-ABLE as farmland.  The property tax is less then 1/5 the normal rate.

Either that or just demolish a block or two and farm it next spring and that would generate a lot of cash money at farmer's markets while also help the community, which is what this city really needs. I live 30 mins west outside Detroit in a semi-rural area and the farm a few miles south of me has an open stand which is busy all day long. They easily make a couple hundred per day minimum so multiply that by product and the few months when ripe produce is available. Just an idea as I know that there is some urban farming going on down there. Or you could run a co-op where certain people put in the work as far as farming and then they get a cut of the yields and the rest is sold.

This could work in Detroit if the property taxes were not inflated.  You could buy up neighboring bad blocks and knock em down for open space (and crime reduction) as well if you we're properly taxed for the actual value of the land.

If the area turned around you could build new houses on the empty lots.

There is a way to make money out of extraordinarily cheap housing but actually it does require quite a bit of investment (have seen it done in Australia before).

Basically you buy *every* property in a small street then end the leases for all existing tenants (in a legal and reasonable way) and after they have left rebuild all the houses (and later be very fussy about the new tenants that you let move in).

If you can do that well (and the street is not surrounded by other bad streets) then there is a good chance you can create a nicer new street for people to live in that will actually attract people to it (and then eventually reap the rewards as the property values increase).

It isn't without risk and it isn't so cheap but it has a much better chance than buying a single property in an area that already has severe problems with crime and bad tenants.

But if the taxes are too high then even this approach might not work (so sometimes what look like "bargains" are actually very far from it).

Detroit is approximately $20 Billion in debt, and

Half of Detroit property owners don't pay taxes
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130221/METRO01/302210375#ixzz2b0fPi2kZ

Delinquency is so pervasive that 77 blocks had only one owner who paid taxes last year.

Detroit has the highest property taxes among big cities nationwide and relies on assessments that are seriously inflated. Many houses are assessed at more than 10 times their market price, according to new research from two Michigan professors.

Billion with a B

Taxes would be an issue but not that bad.  The problem is that there are too many (bad) houses and not enough demand.  Unless Detroit does something to pick up demand the problem will continue. Rentals in Detroit are super low as well with tenants that can do more damage than the rent. 

I suspect that Detroit is a lost cause.

Buy property there and get taxed to death.

There are a lot of things to think about.


Educational information:
http://www.businessinsider.com/buying-cheap-property-in-detroit-2013-7

Was thinking the BTCitcoin community should snatch up some homes in Detroit after reading this article:

http://homes.yahoo.com/photos/yahoo-homes-of-the-week-homes-listed-for-less-than-5-000-slideshow/


Could use BitcoinStarter to purchase a few with tier rewards being whatever we want to come up with as a community.  Anyone think its a good idea??