Detroit is about to kill its own market

[Paul S.]

Just got off the phone with my attorney hoping to get some news about the backlog of evictions - we discussed a proposal a judge is putting forth to require proof of rental compliance before being eligible to file ANY lawsuit (7day, notice to quit ect)  

Less than 10% of rentals are in compliance in the city. If this passes the real estate market in Detroit will drop by 50-75% in value. 

[Drew Sygit]

@Paul S. Although we can debate the percentage, we're conceptually in agreement:)

Not sure though, that the eviction process is our main issue. Yes, in normal times, it could go faster, but it's usually not that bad. 

Our wish list:

1) Squatters actually getting arrested - and quickly: Once word gets out on the street that this is being enforced, it will become less of an issue.

2) Tighter scrapper laws and aggressive enforcement: City wants new furnaces & hot water heaters per code, but what's the point if they keep getting stolen?

3) DHC and Housing Agencies actually enforcing S8 tenant requirements: Too many S8 tenants don't pay their portion of the rent, water and damages. How is it we can pass S8 inspection last year, yet this year need all new smoke detectors, have to repair holes in walls, fix broken windows, etc. Who does S8 think caused the damages?

4) Better money judgments & garnishments: too many judges will only approve ridiculously low garnishment payments. $50/month on a balance of $2500? Really?

Long-Term: Improve Financial Literacy! Ever look at applicant bank statements? We had an applicant last year receive $11k in tax refunds as shown on the bank statement. We also had the tax return and somehow they got back significantly more than they paid in taxes, but that's another story. Within 3 weeks they spent $9k of it! Some of it we could see was warranted: new tires for their car, clothes for the kids, a nice dinner out for the family, a new TV. Most of it though, was spent on STUPID stuff - several visits to casinos to "live large", eating out almost every lunch & dinner, several beauty treatments, buying a bunch of online movies, etc. You know what they didn't spend a penny of it on? The $4k in bad debt on their credit report! What's more, they had a car loan from one of the scam dealers that sold them an overpriced lemon with a 20%+ interest rate. If these applicants had any financial sense, they would have used the refund to pay off their bad debt to fix their credit, so that in the near future they could get a better car for a smaller payment!

We'd like to see evictions and the corresponding collections somehow tied into a forced financial literacy program, to try to educate slumtenants and improve themselves. 

Something has to be done to break the cycle.

Thanks for listening, we now return you to reality:(