Okay...my recollection was a little off....not michigan, but Detroit....WTF?!?!?!
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090202/BREAKING/90202018/-1
Median price of a home in Detroit: $7,500<!--endheadline-->
By Tim Jones
Chicago Tribune
DETROIT — It may be tough to get financing for a new car these days, but in Detroit you can buy a house with a credit card.
The median price of a home sold in Detroit in December was $7,500, according to Realcomp, a listing service.
Not $75,000. Remove a zero — it's seven thousand five hundred dollars, substantially less than the lowest-price car on the new-car market.
Among the many dispiriting numbers that bleakly depict the decrepitude of this one-time industrial behemoth, the steep slide of housing values helps define the daunting challenge to anyone who wants to lead this shrinking, poverty-pocked city of about 800,000 people.
"We're always fighting ourselves out of a hole," said Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans.
Despite the depth of the hole, Evans is running for mayor. In fact, he is one of 15 people who have raised their hands to be mayor of Detroit and fill the remaining months in office of the former mayor who now wears a green jumpsuit and resides in Evans' spartan house of justice, the Wayne County Jail.
Detroit has long been the snide remark and punch line to derogatory urban humor, and the conviction last fall of two-term Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick for lying about an extramarital affair with his chief of staff reinforced suspicions that Detroit is beyond help, let alone self-governance. But as the domestic auto industry, the city's principal private-sector employer and founding corporate father, seeks a financial bailout from Washington, formerly whispered remarks about the prospect of the nation's 11th-largest city being the first major American city to go bankrupt are now publicly discussed.
If the Obama administration is looking for a city to test new ideas for chronic urban problems, it can look to Detroit, a northern New Orleans without the French Quarter. While bedrock poverty in the Crescent City was violently laid bare by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Detroit has been quietly slipping into social and economic crisis for 40 years. One-third of the population lives in poverty, and almost 50 percent of children are in poverty, according to data from the Detroit-Area Community Indicators System. Median household income has dropped 24 percent since 2000, according to the Census Bureau.
New York bond-rating houses last month lowered the city's bond rating to junk status, a lowly assessment shared by New Orleans and few others.
On a positive note, Detroit's homicide rate dropped 14 percent last year. That prompted mayoral candidate Stanley Christmas to tell the Detroit News recently, "I don't mean to be sarcastic, but there just isn't anyone left to kill."
Detroit voters will choose two candidates in a Feb. 24 primary who will face off in May. In the meantime, the city faces a projected budget deficit of at least $300 million, with no clear view on how to erase it. "If we don't get it right, we could be headed for a state takeover or receivership," warned Dave Bing, a mayoral candidate best known for draining jump shots for the Detroit Pistons back in the 1960s and '70s. At 64, Bing, a successful businessman, is running as the candidate of integrity in a city that, under Kilpatrick, had little.
Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr., who assumed the mayor's office by virtue of his being president of the City Council, promised he is "not going to let (receivership) happen."
Detroit, which has lost half its population in the past 50 years, is deceptively large, covering 139 square miles. Manhattan, San Francisco and Boston could, as a group, fit inside the city's boundaries. There is no major grocery chain in the city, and only two movie theaters. Much of the neighborhood economy revolves around rib joints, Coney hot dog stands and liquor stores. The candidates travel around this sprawling city, some invoking the nostalgic era of Big Three dominance and vowing that Detroit can be great again.
Groups of them attend nearly unworkable faux debate forums about how they will solve the city's troubles, with responses to last no more than 60 seconds. Given the complexity of problems that defy sound-bite answers, their proposed solutions range from the predictable to the wacky:
More cops on the street.
Make high school graduation mandatory.
Grow your own food.
Bulldoze large stretches of the city and turn them into wind farms.
Procreate like there's no tomorrow.
The promise of a better tomorrow circles the downtown on the city's elevated light-rail system called the People Mover, painted pink with a Pepsi-Cola ad that reads "OPTIMISUMMMMMMMMMM."
Kilpatrick's election in 2001 lured Henry Hassan back to Detroit from Minnesota. Hassan, who opened a restaurant on the city's northwest side, said he was quickly disillusioned.
"You remember the riots in '67?" Hassan asked, referring to the cataclysmic five days that left 43 dead and more than 2,000 buildings burned down. "It's a little worse than that right now. ... We need somebody to come in and care for the city more than they care for themselves."
The problem is more than a $300 million budget shortfall, said John Mogk, a professor at Wayne State University Law School.
"A thousand people are leaving the city every month," Mogk said, "and the city does not have the financial resources and the economic base to solve its own problems."
To be sure, progress has been made downtown: two new sports stadiums, a reinvigorated neighborhood around Wayne State and new lofts and casinos. But unlike Pittsburgh, which successfully reinvented itself after the decline of Big Steel, Detroit displays only islands of prosperity amid a dismal landscape. Neighborhoods have suffered, and foreclosures have aggravated the long-festering ill of abandoned homes.
"A lack of vision has held us back," said Nicholas Hood III, another mayoral candidate. "The auto industry was so dominant — too dominant — and we never prodded ourselves and the business community to a more expansive vision."
To the surprise of many in this overwhelmingly black city (82 percent), only 53 percent of registered voters turned out for November's presidential election, which featured the first African-American nominee. It wasn't long ago that a Democrat couldn't carry Michigan without a big turnout in Detroit. As it turned out, Detroit's votes didn't matter in the election.
"Detroit will never be the great industrial center again," said Kevin Boyle, a Detroit native and author of "Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age." "What will it look like?" Boyle said. "I don't know."
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090202/BREAKING/90202018/-1
Median price of a home in Detroit: $7,500<!--endheadline-->
By Tim Jones
Chicago Tribune
DETROIT — It may be tough to get financing for a new car these days, but in Detroit you can buy a house with a credit card.
The median price of a home sold in Detroit in December was $7,500, according to Realcomp, a listing service.
Not $75,000. Remove a zero — it's seven thousand five hundred dollars, substantially less than the lowest-price car on the new-car market.
Among the many dispiriting numbers that bleakly depict the decrepitude of this one-time industrial behemoth, the steep slide of housing values helps define the daunting challenge to anyone who wants to lead this shrinking, poverty-pocked city of about 800,000 people.
"We're always fighting ourselves out of a hole," said Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans.
Despite the depth of the hole, Evans is running for mayor. In fact, he is one of 15 people who have raised their hands to be mayor of Detroit and fill the remaining months in office of the former mayor who now wears a green jumpsuit and resides in Evans' spartan house of justice, the Wayne County Jail.
Detroit has long been the snide remark and punch line to derogatory urban humor, and the conviction last fall of two-term Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick for lying about an extramarital affair with his chief of staff reinforced suspicions that Detroit is beyond help, let alone self-governance. But as the domestic auto industry, the city's principal private-sector employer and founding corporate father, seeks a financial bailout from Washington, formerly whispered remarks about the prospect of the nation's 11th-largest city being the first major American city to go bankrupt are now publicly discussed.
If the Obama administration is looking for a city to test new ideas for chronic urban problems, it can look to Detroit, a northern New Orleans without the French Quarter. While bedrock poverty in the Crescent City was violently laid bare by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Detroit has been quietly slipping into social and economic crisis for 40 years. One-third of the population lives in poverty, and almost 50 percent of children are in poverty, according to data from the Detroit-Area Community Indicators System. Median household income has dropped 24 percent since 2000, according to the Census Bureau.
New York bond-rating houses last month lowered the city's bond rating to junk status, a lowly assessment shared by New Orleans and few others.
On a positive note, Detroit's homicide rate dropped 14 percent last year. That prompted mayoral candidate Stanley Christmas to tell the Detroit News recently, "I don't mean to be sarcastic, but there just isn't anyone left to kill."
Detroit voters will choose two candidates in a Feb. 24 primary who will face off in May. In the meantime, the city faces a projected budget deficit of at least $300 million, with no clear view on how to erase it. "If we don't get it right, we could be headed for a state takeover or receivership," warned Dave Bing, a mayoral candidate best known for draining jump shots for the Detroit Pistons back in the 1960s and '70s. At 64, Bing, a successful businessman, is running as the candidate of integrity in a city that, under Kilpatrick, had little.
Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr., who assumed the mayor's office by virtue of his being president of the City Council, promised he is "not going to let (receivership) happen."
Detroit, which has lost half its population in the past 50 years, is deceptively large, covering 139 square miles. Manhattan, San Francisco and Boston could, as a group, fit inside the city's boundaries. There is no major grocery chain in the city, and only two movie theaters. Much of the neighborhood economy revolves around rib joints, Coney hot dog stands and liquor stores. The candidates travel around this sprawling city, some invoking the nostalgic era of Big Three dominance and vowing that Detroit can be great again.
Groups of them attend nearly unworkable faux debate forums about how they will solve the city's troubles, with responses to last no more than 60 seconds. Given the complexity of problems that defy sound-bite answers, their proposed solutions range from the predictable to the wacky:
More cops on the street.
Make high school graduation mandatory.
Grow your own food.
Bulldoze large stretches of the city and turn them into wind farms.
Procreate like there's no tomorrow.
The promise of a better tomorrow circles the downtown on the city's elevated light-rail system called the People Mover, painted pink with a Pepsi-Cola ad that reads "OPTIMISUMMMMMMMMMM."
Kilpatrick's election in 2001 lured Henry Hassan back to Detroit from Minnesota. Hassan, who opened a restaurant on the city's northwest side, said he was quickly disillusioned.
"You remember the riots in '67?" Hassan asked, referring to the cataclysmic five days that left 43 dead and more than 2,000 buildings burned down. "It's a little worse than that right now. ... We need somebody to come in and care for the city more than they care for themselves."
The problem is more than a $300 million budget shortfall, said John Mogk, a professor at Wayne State University Law School.
"A thousand people are leaving the city every month," Mogk said, "and the city does not have the financial resources and the economic base to solve its own problems."
To be sure, progress has been made downtown: two new sports stadiums, a reinvigorated neighborhood around Wayne State and new lofts and casinos. But unlike Pittsburgh, which successfully reinvented itself after the decline of Big Steel, Detroit displays only islands of prosperity amid a dismal landscape. Neighborhoods have suffered, and foreclosures have aggravated the long-festering ill of abandoned homes.
"A lack of vision has held us back," said Nicholas Hood III, another mayoral candidate. "The auto industry was so dominant — too dominant — and we never prodded ourselves and the business community to a more expansive vision."
To the surprise of many in this overwhelmingly black city (82 percent), only 53 percent of registered voters turned out for November's presidential election, which featured the first African-American nominee. It wasn't long ago that a Democrat couldn't carry Michigan without a big turnout in Detroit. As it turned out, Detroit's votes didn't matter in the election.
"Detroit will never be the great industrial center again," said Kevin Boyle, a Detroit native and author of "Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age." "What will it look like?" Boyle said. "I don't know."
I want to make something clear. This area is not like any other. The big city does not run the suburbs. Its the other way around. If the stadiums were not down there nobody would even go to Detroit. The residents of Detroit come to the suburbs to shop. Like the article said there is not even a major grocery store in the city. No Kmart, Miejers, Walmart, Target. So all that money leaves the city.
The suburbs do not need Detroit. But Detroit needs the suburbs. This condo is about 14 miles outside Detroit. That may as well be 200 miles away.
Hell I live 3 miles from "8 Mile" there has never been a driveby shooting in my city.
The suburbs do not need Detroit. But Detroit needs the suburbs. This condo is about 14 miles outside Detroit. That may as well be 200 miles away.
Hell I live 3 miles from "8 Mile" there has never been a driveby shooting in my city.
Even The Dead Are Leaving Detriot - No Wonder Housing Prices Are Dropping
August 12th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under
Filed Under: Real Estate Humor
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Everyone knows that Detroit is having trouble keeping people in the city. [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Housing [COLOR=blue ! important]prices[/COLOR][/COLOR][/COLOR] are below scrap costs, there are no jobs to speak of as the auto industry implodes, and the Mayor is in and out of jail.
But it is a surprise to me that the dead are even leaving the city. Over the past 6 years nearly 1,000 corpses have left the city to be interned elsewhere.
When the dead are leaving the city you know you can put a fork in it.
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August 12th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under
Filed Under: Real Estate Humor
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
But it is a surprise to me that the dead are even leaving the city. Over the past 6 years nearly 1,000 corpses have left the city to be interned elsewhere.
When the dead are leaving the city you know you can put a fork in it.
From 2002 through 2007, the remains of about 1,000 people have been disinterred and moved out of the city, according to permits stored in metal filing cabinets in the city’s department of health. Looked at in another way, for about every 30 living human beings who leave Detroit, one dead human being follows. Moreover, anecdotal evidence compiled by a Detroit professor suggests the figure may be twice as high, meaning city records may be incomplete and that thousands upon thousands of deceased people have been relocated from the city over the past 20 years. <cite cite="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080812/METRO08/808120367">via Detroit News</cite>
Tags: detroit, dead+leaving++detroit
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Well, you could do one of two things. Since you just lost your job you can roll your 401(k) into an IRA, which gives you more investment options. Once you have done that, you can self direct your IRA and buy this place with your IRA money. By doing this all of the income from the property goes into your IRA, not your pocket, both rental income and upon sale. The income would be tax free, but you would also lose the depreciation benefit of owning real property (though that would be minimal given the value). I don't know all of the ins and outs of self directed IRAs so you should consult with a professional on it (not your financial advisor since the last thing they want is for you to self direct your IRA). There are some limitations on self directed IRAs and what you can do with them. You definitely need to look into it before getting involved. If you f*k it up, it could be considered an early distribution from your IRA and subject to taxes and penalties.
Alternatively, you can keep the money in the 401(k) and take out a loan from your 401(k). You have to pay back the loan, with interest, which is basically paying yourself interest, but you would get to keep the money from the condo above and beyond the repayment. You would have to coordinate this through your 401(k) advisor, not sure what your repayment terms would be.
Alternatively, you can keep the money in the 401(k) and take out a loan from your 401(k). You have to pay back the loan, with interest, which is basically paying yourself interest, but you would get to keep the money from the condo above and beyond the repayment. You would have to coordinate this through your 401(k) advisor, not sure what your repayment terms would be.
