All Forum Posts by: Scott Pigman

not unless there's been an arrest.

@Joe Villeneuve 

Yes the article speaks of Wayne County, which is a lot more than just Detroit, but the numbers it uses are skewed by what's going on in Detroit. 

My point is that the article only looks at a single metric to determine the "best" market. If that's all you're going to go by, then you're probably going to end up in the worst part of Detroit. I'm sure it's not the only thing you consider or else that's where you'd be too. Like you say there's plenty in the area that's not Detroit proper. And there are people predicting a rebirth for Detroit, which will certainly help the outer areas as well. I hope they're right this time, even if I never invest a dime there.

I'm not trying to say SE Michigan isn't  a good place to invest, just that there's more to look at than what's in that article. Like Fox Mulder, "I want to believe" :-)

I used to chuckle at people here in Maryland who'd say something about how horrible Detroit is when I mentioned I used to live out that way. "You're dumping on Detroit? Have you ever driven through Baltimore city? You've got plenty of your own problems." (For the record, Baltimore has plenty of great stuff too.)

Assuming a loan is not the same as subject-to.

@Kimberly H.  I just spoke to my realtor. He advised, and I agreed, to file a complaint with the licensing commission. We'll make sure every one down the chain gets cc'd.

I'm rooting for Detroit and Michigan in general. I've lived in Michigan (Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti) and too infrequently return to vacation. I'd like invest there if for no other reason than to have a tax deductible excuse to visit. However, I think the article @Joe Villeneuve cites isn't the best endorsement of SE Michigan / Detroit. It's only measuring the rent to purchase price ratio and doesn't say anything about where the city is headed. Since I can't offer any insight into the pros and cons of investing in those kinds of "2% rule" areas besides what's already been covered in numerous other threads, I won't try. Suffice to say, it ain't for everyone.

There are other articles out there that tout Detroit as being on the verge of a big comeback. A burgeoning start up environment being one the big drivers. I really want to believe these kinds of stories. But then again I was reading similar stories nearly twenty years ago when I lived there. I have a fear that Detroit is the city of the future... and always will be. (Please prove me wrong.)

UPDATE

My realtor got the access logs today and identified the realtor. According to her profile on Zillow she's a broker and has 17 years of experience. My agent sent her a pretty strongly worded email asking for an explanation for the unlawful intrusion and licensing violation of giving out her key code.

Her response was that she checked her logs and claims that she was there with the clients herself and that's she's very sorry for not having made an appointment and she's very sorry for that and "what can I do to help to ease the pain?"

I've seen her picture. She sure as hell wasn't in my house. At least not when I was around. And now she's blatantly lying about it and seemingly fishing to find out what it'll cost to "ease the pain".

I'm pretty mild mannered. Not one to get angry or seek revenge. If she turned out to be a new realtor who fessed up and apologized I might have been swayed to go easy on her. But she's been in the business long enough to know better and she's flat out lying about it. I'm not one to take pleasure in someone else's misfortune. But I think I'll make an exception for her.

It doesn't have to be like that. Hopefully the real criminal will be caught. Your name will be cleared. You say, "look, I was pretty shocked and upset when the cops showed up, but I understand that they were just doing their jobs. I'm sorry for flying off the handle. What do you say we put it behind us?"

@Jody Young  It sucks to be falsely suspected of a crime. But I think you're overreacting. Through no fault of your own you do look like a potential suspect and the cops would be negligent not to check you out. You've been to the property so you know what they have there, you're working on flip so you have need of tools, and your request for a small second mortgage at a high interest indicates that may be having some money problems. 

Someone stole from them. It was probably someone they know, probably even someone they've trusted. I wouldn't assume they felt great thinking that it may have been you.

And started right about 1920, which is when residential air conditioning was introduced, according to wikipedia.

"the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented and used in 1902 by American inventor Willis Carrier. The introduction of residential air conditioning in the 1920s helped enable the great migration to the Sun Belt in the United States."

I can imagine a seller saying, "Oh good lord, this guy can't qualify to get a regular mortgage and has to go to one of those loan sharks to get a loan. No way I want to deal with him!"

I'm not saying it's a fair or accurate opinion, but it's a reaction I can imagine someone having upon hearing "hard money".