All Forum Posts by: Scott McMahan

Since I'm new to Michigan, I spent half a day driving around metro Detroit several days ago and my biggest impression was the city really needed to exercise Eminent Domain in a big way and I was curious why that didn't happen. I'm glad you shared the state's policy on that.

It's fascinating to drive through a city with such rich history and beautiful architecture and see whole neighborhoods whose current highest and best use would be agriculture. But that won't happen because the state won't permit ED. It's frustrating to hear that the local politicians have tied their own hands. Because the city's voters are overwhelmingly under-educated entitlement-addicts, it's hard to imagine that situation changing.

And in talking to some friends who have moved into the city, the common thread is, "It's great here - like living in a 3rd world country - you can do pretty much whatever you want - no need for permits, licenses - it's like the wild west." They're hippy artists, mostly (my friends).

And the hippy artists and the young professionals are exactly the ideal folks to rejuvenate a city around. It's happened in many other places. It will be a long, slow going. The city has no resources to offer incentives. It can't even keep the libraries open.

Seeing all the able-bodied young men with hoodies walking around with poor posture during the middle of the day - that's perhaps the biggest problem. These are lives that have no educational or moral foundation, and nothing to do but get in trouble. These are the people no neighboring city wants, and they stay in Detroit for likely the same reasons as my hippy artist friends.

The last neighborhood I drove through was Indian Village, where you can buy a 9600 sf apparently well-kept mansion for $450K. Any other city in the country it would be $3M+. And 1/4 mile north or south and you're in absolute blight. What's living in a mansion worth if you can't sleep at night for fear of a break-in?

It's clear there are opportunities in the city. Perhaps significant opportunities. But they're certainly not available for less than $1K. I suspect commercial is better than residential as a generalization. But either way it would require a good deal of courage.

Two days ago I did my first driving tour of Wayne County. I moved to Michigan almost 6 weeks ago, so I'm looking at the market with very fresh eyes.

Listening to the BP podcasts, I'm surprised at the unilateral position that Josh and Brandon consistently weave into their podcasts that investing in Detroit is to be completely avoided. There does seem to be a strong bear bias about Detroit.

The truth is, there are a multitude of factors that should be weighed before investing in any market, and there will likely always be bulls and bears in every market whose viewpoints prevent them from seeing potential pitfalls and opportunities. Just as a Detroit bear could be blind to potentially significant opportunities, a Detroit bull could venture into potentially catastrophically risky speculation.

In navigating these factors, it's good for all of us to share and debate. I've found in all kinds of markets that when the majority opinion leans heavily to the bears, that's where the best bull opportunities can be found. I haven't yet decided for myself if that is the case for Wayne County, and reading facts and opinions about the fundamentals of both sides is very helpful for me, and I'm sure for others as well. So thanks to Annette and anyone else on both sides for sharing.

Guys, that's pretty harsh and liberal-like to lash out personally against someone you disagree with. Annette just quoted the first paragraph in the article she linked to.

As a recent transplant to MI, I appreciated this article. Thanks for sharing, Annette.

Nice to meet you Thomas! I'd love to participate in a local group too. I'm in Lapeer and will soon move to the Lake Orion/Northern Oakland County area.

Jane if what you really want to do is fix/flip, then do that! Study the info on this site and the podcasts so you can speak the language. Network to find a financial partner and hard money lender, then put your energy into marketing and careful analysis to find and buy a property. Make sure you get a property with plenty of equity and in a good area so that even when you make mistakes you'll still break even or profit.

Every time I've ever done one thing I'm not so crazy about so I can do something I really want to do, life has always kicked me in the pants. If flipping is what you really want to do then find the way to do that! Anyone who tells you otherwise is not giving you advice for you but for themselves.

Hi Michiganders!

I'm brand new to Michigan - we just moved here about a month ago from Arizona to be closer to my fiancee's family in Lapeer. I have a few years' experience as a flipper and I'm looking to get into the market here in Michigan. I'm currently getting my realtors' license and I plan to work primarily with investors and homeowners heading towards foreclosure and other distressed situations while also doing my own deals.

I'm coming to you who have experience in Michigan for advice. If you were to start fresh anywhere in Michigan today, where would you start? Where do you see the most population and value growth (not necessarily the same thing) over the next 5-10 years? Where would you go for the best combination of appreciation and cash flow for landlords? What towns and cities are on the verge of heating up?

I've begun the research, and I'd love to go beyond the numbers and hear your opinions.

Thanks!

What I would recommend much more is to keep studying, and create an additional income doing something you love. If you love the idea of flipping houses, find a partner and/or hard money lender to finance the purchase and rehab of a property with a ton of equity. Put half of your share of the profits into paying down the debt, and the other half in savings. If you have enough in savings to do another deal with a HML without a partner, then do another deal. You can do this while working your job. It may take time, but if you love it, you'll find the way to succeed with it. By creating an additional income stream and redeeming yourself of your debts by your own fruition, you'll have a radically stronger foundation than if you had risked your mother's equity.

So you're saying that you would have your mother deed her house into your name and you mortgage away the equity to pay off your debts? Maybe I misread your post?

If that is what you're suggesting, I highly discourage it. Having done something similar to my mother when I was 23, I too had the best of intentions when I did it, and it did not work out as I intended. The result for me became one of my biggest regrets in my life. And I've seen so many similar stories in working with desperate sellers. Our relationships with our mothers is sacred. It's a bad idea to make them surety for our debts.

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I'm enjoying digging into all the great content here. I'll have some deals to post soon :)

Hello, I'm Scott and I'm very excited to have found Bigger Pockets!

I was a flipper in Northern AZ and in Jacksonville FL from 2003-2006 and flipped, wholesaled, and worked on about 40 houses and a few 2-12 unit apartment buildings during that time. It ended badly, and I look forward to sharing what I've learned from my previous failures and successes.

I'm not getting back into real estate for the first time since 2006 and I'm just thrilled to have found this community. Nice to meet you all!