The property taxes are really high on these houses. A lot of them have thousands of dollars in back taxes owed as well. They are no bargain.
Detroit homes sell for $1 amid mortgage and car industry crisis, page 2
privacy
reply posted on 6-3-2010 @ 03:32 AM by Graybeard
Those houses are cheap because many are dilapidated and in areas where no one wants to touch them. No demand, money pit, bad area=Dirt cheap. Then you
have the aforementioned taxes, renovation costs, etc.
reply to post by Morningglory
I live east of Gary near South Bend and its reputation is well known. It's a similar situation. Jobs left, poverty ensues, crime grows, the area degrades. South Bend has it's own mini-Gary on the west side.
I lived in central NJ until '98 and Trenton was much the same. A proud manufacturing city that fell to pieces over time when the jobs moved out of town or out of state, turning it into a crime ridden and undesirable area over the years. They've put more effort into trying to spruce it up some since I've left because it's the state capital but it's putting lipstick on a pig. Build a hotel, build a sports arena and ballpark, great. It means next to nothing if most of the residents aren't working or don't want to work. I remember reading about when the Marriott first opened downtown there after I moved out here. The cut ribbon had barely hit the sidewalk when a visitor was mugged with a 2x4. I remember thinking "Yep, that's Trenton."
I had a friend whose family grew up there. Her mother worked hard and she and her husband bought their first house in '50. Eventually, she bought three more. After her mother died in '97 she tried to sell them but it took her 6 years and not because they were expensive. The neighborhood she had grown up in had slowly turned into a drug pit from the late 60's on and it steamrolled ahead in the 80's when crack took off. I've looked in over the years and in while it never had the murder rate of Gary, some years in recent times it had a higher overall crime rate. Sad, considering its part in our country's history.
reply to post by Morningglory
I live east of Gary near South Bend and its reputation is well known. It's a similar situation. Jobs left, poverty ensues, crime grows, the area degrades. South Bend has it's own mini-Gary on the west side.
I lived in central NJ until '98 and Trenton was much the same. A proud manufacturing city that fell to pieces over time when the jobs moved out of town or out of state, turning it into a crime ridden and undesirable area over the years. They've put more effort into trying to spruce it up some since I've left because it's the state capital but it's putting lipstick on a pig. Build a hotel, build a sports arena and ballpark, great. It means next to nothing if most of the residents aren't working or don't want to work. I remember reading about when the Marriott first opened downtown there after I moved out here. The cut ribbon had barely hit the sidewalk when a visitor was mugged with a 2x4. I remember thinking "Yep, that's Trenton."
I had a friend whose family grew up there. Her mother worked hard and she and her husband bought their first house in '50. Eventually, she bought three more. After her mother died in '97 she tried to sell them but it took her 6 years and not because they were expensive. The neighborhood she had grown up in had slowly turned into a drug pit from the late 60's on and it steamrolled ahead in the 80's when crack took off. I've looked in over the years and in while it never had the murder rate of Gary, some years in recent times it had a higher overall crime rate. Sad, considering its part in our country's history.
reply posted on 6-3-2010 @ 12:06 PM by Morningglory
reply to post by Graybeard
Hard to believe South Bend has a mini Gary. Gary tried to revitalize the downtown they built a Sheraton and put a gambling boat out on the lake. Seems like it's only purpose is to give people something half way decent to look at as they speed past Gary on the toll road.
When it became apparent everything was going in the toilet there was so much finger pointing and bitterness. Everyone seemed to be blaming each other. Emotions ran high. US steel was like a God for many. I remember as a teen making derogatory comments about US Steel. My mother let me know in short order that if it wasn't for US Steel I wouldn't have the clothes on my back or roof over my head. She was really angry. I guess she was right but she refused to believe what they gave could also be taken away. No blame was heaped on the people not the corporation.
This wasn't just jobs. Many tradesmen passed their trades on to their children ensuring their place in a city where they had lived out their version of the American Dream. Just because it was on the scale of that of the blue collar worker doesn't diminish it's worth or the people. Right up to the end some held out hope that US Steel would swoop in and save us all. It was a hard decision to leave.
People should know the majority of the $1 Gary homes have been neglected, vandalized you name it. There are past due taxes, liens etc. Humidity is very high in the area because of the lake, Detroit is probably the same, I'm sure mold is rampant. Couple that with a few used as crack houses and there's a fair amount of homes that could never be salvaged. Homes in Gary/Detroit were bought by steelworkers/autoworkers. They were not interested in flipping them or using them to make a quick buck then split. These were lifetime investments in community. So the ones who were doing the right thing were left holding the bag of $1 homes.
I hope Detroit can reinvent itself but I feel bad for those who are still trying to fight the good fight. It's not fair how government and corporations can rape and pillage an area then run out on everyone. Groups of people can work together building communities and villages but anything the size of Detroit or any industrialized town needs that corporate contribution. These towns have become too big for the remaining people to maintain. I do believe this is a trend for industrial communities in the US. With this mentality of throw away industry I'm afraid they are throwing out the babies along with the bathwater.
In the US financial institutions are considered too big to fail. While the financial sector is vital it cannot stand alone. Without working people/products within their realm they will move on to greener, global pastures. I saw nothing done to help the working people of Gary just like I see nothing being done to bring back jobs for the unemployed across this country.
It's easy to say take on more debt by going to school, I'm certain that's what the bankers want. Believe me we have our share of student loans. If there are no jobs it just becomes an endless debt trap. By the time some finished their educations the jobs they'd hoped for had already abandoned ship. So either they educationally reinvent themselves going into more debt or they run out of resources/hope and sink lower.
I just watched Gran Torino again. I just love the old guys they are a dying breed, those waters run deep. Maybe I'm just too nostalgic but we had a great bike-riding-corner-store-white-picket-fence-kind of life. I wish kids today could know what that was like.
Hard to believe South Bend has a mini Gary. Gary tried to revitalize the downtown they built a Sheraton and put a gambling boat out on the lake. Seems like it's only purpose is to give people something half way decent to look at as they speed past Gary on the toll road.
When it became apparent everything was going in the toilet there was so much finger pointing and bitterness. Everyone seemed to be blaming each other. Emotions ran high. US steel was like a God for many. I remember as a teen making derogatory comments about US Steel. My mother let me know in short order that if it wasn't for US Steel I wouldn't have the clothes on my back or roof over my head. She was really angry. I guess she was right but she refused to believe what they gave could also be taken away. No blame was heaped on the people not the corporation.
This wasn't just jobs. Many tradesmen passed their trades on to their children ensuring their place in a city where they had lived out their version of the American Dream. Just because it was on the scale of that of the blue collar worker doesn't diminish it's worth or the people. Right up to the end some held out hope that US Steel would swoop in and save us all. It was a hard decision to leave.
People should know the majority of the $1 Gary homes have been neglected, vandalized you name it. There are past due taxes, liens etc. Humidity is very high in the area because of the lake, Detroit is probably the same, I'm sure mold is rampant. Couple that with a few used as crack houses and there's a fair amount of homes that could never be salvaged. Homes in Gary/Detroit were bought by steelworkers/autoworkers. They were not interested in flipping them or using them to make a quick buck then split. These were lifetime investments in community. So the ones who were doing the right thing were left holding the bag of $1 homes.
I hope Detroit can reinvent itself but I feel bad for those who are still trying to fight the good fight. It's not fair how government and corporations can rape and pillage an area then run out on everyone. Groups of people can work together building communities and villages but anything the size of Detroit or any industrialized town needs that corporate contribution. These towns have become too big for the remaining people to maintain. I do believe this is a trend for industrial communities in the US. With this mentality of throw away industry I'm afraid they are throwing out the babies along with the bathwater.
In the US financial institutions are considered too big to fail. While the financial sector is vital it cannot stand alone. Without working people/products within their realm they will move on to greener, global pastures. I saw nothing done to help the working people of Gary just like I see nothing being done to bring back jobs for the unemployed across this country.
It's easy to say take on more debt by going to school, I'm certain that's what the bankers want. Believe me we have our share of student loans. If there are no jobs it just becomes an endless debt trap. By the time some finished their educations the jobs they'd hoped for had already abandoned ship. So either they educationally reinvent themselves going into more debt or they run out of resources/hope and sink lower.
I just watched Gran Torino again. I just love the old guys they are a dying breed, those waters run deep. Maybe I'm just too nostalgic but we had a great bike-riding-corner-store-white-picket-fence-kind of life. I wish kids today could know what that was like.
reply posted on 7-3-2010 @ 03:12 AM by Morningglory
reply to post by Graybeard
South Bend was a good ways east of Gary I can't believe it spread that far. We lived in Portage for a few months before we left. They were trying to keep it out. Michigan City was already getting bad. I really hated leaving that lake. We miss the food too.
As bad as I think we need to do this I just don't see it happening. The problem is the blue collar lifestyle doesn't generate enough profit. It's small potatoes not enough money to be made off people like that. Keeping us in big time debt was the plan. Inflating the cost of real estate, playing with our mortgages and gambling with our retirement funds is the modern way. Too much overhead with industry.
We're on a runaway train with these guys we'll see where it goes. I think we might be in deep doo-doo.
South Bend was a good ways east of Gary I can't believe it spread that far. We lived in Portage for a few months before we left. They were trying to keep it out. Michigan City was already getting bad. I really hated leaving that lake. We miss the food too.
Originally posted by Graybeard
The changes that would need to be made would require a legislative and executive branch leadership willing to reverse some of the trends of the past twenty years and restore the US to a productive rather than a consumer society. It would also require a society that might be willing to "aim lower" and work their way to a standard of living that is comfortable to them rather than shooting for the stars before they turn 30.
As bad as I think we need to do this I just don't see it happening. The problem is the blue collar lifestyle doesn't generate enough profit. It's small potatoes not enough money to be made off people like that. Keeping us in big time debt was the plan. Inflating the cost of real estate, playing with our mortgages and gambling with our retirement funds is the modern way. Too much overhead with industry.
We're on a runaway train with these guys we'll see where it goes. I think we might be in deep doo-doo.
reply posted on 7-3-2010 @ 01:26 PM by Morningglory
reply to post by aristocrat2
I'm afraid most cities with high foreclosure rates will fall victim to the same kind of practices you describe. Detroit should be a good example of what not to do. Unfortunately other cities will probably follow suit.
Your right to go after undeveloped property. Nothing to keep up other than the grass. Low taxes, nothing to steal or vandalize. I just don't see enough money/interest ever coming in to save the day. Hasn't happened in Gary and we left in 83. They'd have to cut a lot more than red tape to save that place.
Although you might have an undeveloped piece what's the sewer system like beneath you. what about the water lines, roads/services. Will garbage trucks even service your area?
In CO a "developed" piece of land is valued higher than one that's not. Out here the term developed does not always have to mean a structure. It could be just access roads, water, electricity and septic. Without those things you've got a piece of grazing land valued and taxed accordingly.
In the country we can improve basic services to increase the value of our cheap piece of grazing land. In Detroit however can you put in a septic tank? Can you drill a well? What about the roads we hire graders and bring out gravel for access roads. This is why large tracts of land can still be bought up fairly cheap out here. The cost of making improvements has increased dramatically. Many people are left with worthless pieces of grazing land that keeps getting shuffled around for back taxes. No profit is seen usually a loss.
We don't fully appreciate the cost/value of an infrastructure until we are left without or have to provide one for ourselves.
Originally posted by aristocrat2
All Detroit needs is its own Margaret Thatcher, someone to sack vast numbers of red tape civil servants, dump loads of petty legislation and a $500 lot will be worth $50,000 in a couple of years.
I'm afraid most cities with high foreclosure rates will fall victim to the same kind of practices you describe. Detroit should be a good example of what not to do. Unfortunately other cities will probably follow suit.
Your right to go after undeveloped property. Nothing to keep up other than the grass. Low taxes, nothing to steal or vandalize. I just don't see enough money/interest ever coming in to save the day. Hasn't happened in Gary and we left in 83. They'd have to cut a lot more than red tape to save that place.
Although you might have an undeveloped piece what's the sewer system like beneath you. what about the water lines, roads/services. Will garbage trucks even service your area?
In CO a "developed" piece of land is valued higher than one that's not. Out here the term developed does not always have to mean a structure. It could be just access roads, water, electricity and septic. Without those things you've got a piece of grazing land valued and taxed accordingly.
In the country we can improve basic services to increase the value of our cheap piece of grazing land. In Detroit however can you put in a septic tank? Can you drill a well? What about the roads we hire graders and bring out gravel for access roads. This is why large tracts of land can still be bought up fairly cheap out here. The cost of making improvements has increased dramatically. Many people are left with worthless pieces of grazing land that keeps getting shuffled around for back taxes. No profit is seen usually a loss.
We don't fully appreciate the cost/value of an infrastructure until we are left without or have to provide one for ourselves.
reply posted on 11-3-2010 @ 01:14 PM by Magnus47
Some related news:
Apparently the need for Detroit to recentralize itself is something many Detroiters agree upon, because there is a recent initiative to Downsize Detroit coming from the mayor himself. The article that link leads to describes some of the pros and cons of this idea, which has already received funding. Apparently the Detroit Land Bank, which was set up to address the property crisis which this thread is all about, is a major part of that initiative.
In my earlier post I said that I believed the best thing for Detroit would be to reinvent itself, because it is spread too thin and wasting resources on a vast area which is no longer sustainable. But this also seemed highly unlikely to me, because you would have to relocate a lot of people and business.
Well, according to the details of this initiative, this is a risk worth taking, because that is exactly what is about to happen in Detroit.
Apparently the need for Detroit to recentralize itself is something many Detroiters agree upon, because there is a recent initiative to Downsize Detroit coming from the mayor himself. The article that link leads to describes some of the pros and cons of this idea, which has already received funding. Apparently the Detroit Land Bank, which was set up to address the property crisis which this thread is all about, is a major part of that initiative.
In my earlier post I said that I believed the best thing for Detroit would be to reinvent itself, because it is spread too thin and wasting resources on a vast area which is no longer sustainable. But this also seemed highly unlikely to me, because you would have to relocate a lot of people and business.
Well, according to the details of this initiative, this is a risk worth taking, because that is exactly what is about to happen in Detroit.
Newest topics, updated in real-time:
Newest topics getting flags, in real-time:
Picture Shows How All Humans On Earth Would Fit Into One 900 Meter-Wide Ball
Fragile Earth: 17 hours ago, 61 flags
Fragile Earth: 17 hours ago, 61 flags
Toxic legacy of US assault on Fallujah 'worse than Hiroshima'
Breaking Alternative News: 16 hours ago, 24 flags
Breaking Alternative News: 16 hours ago, 24 flags
Fart joke leads to college student being arrested and charged
Social Issues and Civil Unrest: 15 hours ago, 22 flags
Social Issues and Civil Unrest: 15 hours ago, 22 flags
As Commandos Raid Tampa, US State Dept Demands Power to Declare War?
New World Order: 8 hours ago, 12 flags
New World Order: 8 hours ago, 12 flags
Code Name** Stellar Wind. Objective** Infiltrate All. Chances For Sucess** High.
General Conspiracies: 7 hours ago, 9 flags
General Conspiracies: 7 hours ago, 9 flags
How many Vietnam Veterans does it take to screw in a Light Bulb?
General Chit Chat: 13 hours ago, 7 flags
General Chit Chat: 13 hours ago, 7 flags
Newest topics getting replies, in real-time:
Picture Shows How All Humans On Earth Would Fit Into One 900 Meter-Wide Ball
Fragile Earth: 17 hours ago, 99 replies
Fragile Earth: 17 hours ago, 99 replies
Fart joke leads to college student being arrested and charged
Social Issues and Civil Unrest: 15 hours ago, 69 replies
Social Issues and Civil Unrest: 15 hours ago, 69 replies
Toxic legacy of US assault on Fallujah 'worse than Hiroshima'
Breaking Alternative News: 16 hours ago, 54 replies
Breaking Alternative News: 16 hours ago, 54 replies
The Above Top Secret Web sites are a
wholly owned social content community of
The Above Network, LLC.
This content community relies on
user-generated content from our member contributors.
The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership
who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides
a collaborative venue for free expression.
ATS Server: www3.theabovenetwork.com
Header data: 0.007 seconds
Page processed in: 0.254 seconds
wholly owned social content community of
The Above Network, LLC.
This content community relies on
user-generated content from our member contributors.
The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership
who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides
a collaborative venue for free expression.
ATS Server: www3.theabovenetwork.com
Header data: 0.007 seconds
Page processed in: 0.254 seconds
