Anyone buying up detroit?

[redwing]

I'll have to check in with a guy I knew who was purchasing about 160 apartments in Atlanta bto see how he's faring, he was moving there though

 

[Sammy-K]

let us know. I have bee looking at Atlanta.. Buckhead and that area as well.

What area of Atlanta did he buy in, if you might know ?

 

[redwing]

Landlords Offer Tenants Reduced Rent, Concessions

Christmas will stretch into 2010 for apartment renters, who are benefiting from an epic collapse in the rental market and generous concessions.

Landlords are offering tenants up to six months of free rent, flat-screen TVs and new appliances. They're also slashing monthly rates and easing application standards.

Rents fell a record 3.5% in 2009 after factoring in freebies, according to MPF Research. MPF projects prices will fall an additional 2% next year as an improving housing market and a tax credit for first-time home buyers attract more renters.

"I've been at this 35 years, and it's by far the worst I've seen it," says Jeff Cronrod of the American Apartment Owners Association.

Nationwide, apartment vacancy is 7.8%, up from 4.8% at the end of 2007, says MPF Vice President Greg Willett.

The soft market is mostly rooted in the nation's 10% jobless rate. Tenants who lose their jobs are moving in with relatives or finding roommates, says economist Lawrence Yun of the National Association of Realtors.

Also, homeowners who want to move but can't sell their houses because they're worth less than their mortgages are renting them out instead. So are investors who snapped up recently foreclosed houses and condos and are waiting for the market to rebound before unloading them. Those units boost supply and dampen prices, economists say.

Among efforts to draw tenants:

 

[MTR]

I was researching Detroit some time back and read an article written by a US investor specifically for overseas investors chasing those incredible yields, he did not paint a pretty picture.
I decided to give it a miss when he stated that when viewing any of the properties in Detroit "make sure you have a gun".

 

[redwing]

It appears that more and more people are finding themselves in this situation everyday in the US.

Reports go back to 2008 of some of these tent cities

Tent City #1

Tent City #2

This was interesting also

What happens to Foreclosed Homes - Trash Out

 

[BV]

It appears that more and more people are finding themselves in this situation everyday in the US.[/URL]

yes unfortunately foreclosures have not stopped and it's not just detroit, it's hapenning in many areas.

The loan write off must be huge for the banks and with the rising unemployment I wonder how long it will be before civil unrest starts.

 

[yeslist]

I was in Toledo Ohio late last year (it is near Detroit)
Believe me , it was not a pretty sight....just say'n
real estate in the nice neat little towns like Perrysburg Ohio would be a better buy in my book. Just over the county line from Toledo in a well managed locality.
American real estate is a whole different ball game.....my thoughts.
Cheers
Si (Aka) Simonjulie

 

[Yupcember]

I’ve always held a morbid fascination for Detroit, ever since it has been labeled hell on earth. It’s probably the only place in the US I have any interest in visiting, because its urban decay is legendary. It once had the highest wage per capita in the US . And now this…extraordinary!

I had to shut my mouth, when my father suddenly announced he invested in a residential property there, last year, as a high, low cost, risk. It’s a very nice, solid stone, grandeur house, apparently in one of the small areas, probably once well to do places, not deteriorated, close to the university. It must have been abandoned because it cost him 5k to get it tenable. Heck, if this place had been plonked into one of our suburbs, it would be a premier land mark, nestled within the majority of the boring houses we have here.

He thought the low rent would be a good return on capital, however I think it’s still empty. (I haven’t been gamed to ask, lately.)

According to the 6th demographia report on housing affordability, it’s the most affordable place to live (ratio to annual wage) out of the countries surveyed, coming to 1.6. And the average fulltime Australian wage is close to four times the annual salary in Detroit. Talk about affordable housing! But Alas that’s comparing apples to rodents.

Why would anyone rent there, if houses are so cheap. Some other not so proud stats of the city…

80,000 abandoned buildings
75 out of Detroit's 135 square miles are abandoned, and area larger than the entire city of Vancouver
1 in 47 are homeless (or squatting, most likely)
Median home price is $6,000
Unemployment is officially 29%, but is estimated at near 50%
Unsolved murder rate 70%
Lowest high school graduation rate in the country, only 21%

I can’t see the US government having the money to fix this place up…and a city shrinks to a large town.

 

[james_w]

in case if anyones wondering nope I didnt buy any currently looking in some under market places in qld with cf+ returns instead

 

[Property Meister]

does anyone remember, there was probably the BEST thread on buying $1 homes in the US,

it basically had a break down of exactly what you would be paying, the risks and pitfalls, and unfortuantely, it was a not a pretty picture,

I just did a search but couldn't find it,

It was a long read but it was like a bible to buying in the US??

I reckon if that post was put up, it would answer a lot of questions about US property for everyone to see!

 

[Aaron Sice]

Unemployment is officially 29%, but is estimated at near 50%

"unemployment" only takes into account those jobless for 12m or less.

after 12m they go onto the "permanently unemployed" roll and no longer form part of official statistics.

so yes - it is actually closer to 50%

 

[Hulkster]

Maybe slightly off topic but fascinating anyway

link

 

[cedase]

After 2 years researching the US market I bought my first project end of November 09. It should be ready for sale by the end of March (6 more weeks).
Even after doing all the research and travelling there as well as having people on the ground there, it is/was a HUGE learning curve. Having said that, I believe I will make a very healthy return on my investment and am already in the market for my second house.

If you are considering investing in the bottom end of the market (US$5000 - $50,000), I don't believe it is feasible to do it profitably from here (Australia) without a 100% trustworthy US infrastructure that you can rely on. Any property investment requires high levels of due diligence. The current US real estate market is no different!

There are quantities of houses for sale in and around Detroit for $500.00. If you are thinking of buying a few I also have shares in the London Harbour Bridge I'd like to clear.......

 

[Perp]

does anyone remember, there was probably the BEST thread on buying $1 homes in the US,

it basically had a break down of exactly what you would be paying, the risks and pitfalls, and unfortuantely, it was a not a pretty picture,

I just did a search but couldn't find it,

It was a long read but it was like a bible to buying in the US??

I reckon if that post was put up, it would answer a lot of questions about US property for everyone to see!

I started a thread nearly 2 years ago called "Why NOT to buy in the USA?", in which I shared my journey over many months, and of course many others contributed, but it was parked at my request because in the end I was being very personally attacked. The informative bits of that thread are now reproduced in the blog mentioned in my signature, which if you send me your email address - and I know you're not one of the aforementioned flamers - I'd be happy to invite you to view.

 

[Sunfish]

Off topic but I don't really want to start a new thread. So how are rents advertised in the US?

It looks to be monthly but some I saw in Hawaii this didn't make a lot of sense either and they quoted "price" as if you were buying a lease up-front. Are they calender months or 4Xweeks?

Thanks in advance.