Very Special Thread Of Real Estate Randomness

[Medusa]

I'd love to tell some stories about the houses that Jack and I viewed while looking for a house in California.

I'll start with a little blurb about a house that was completely FULL of trash, dirty diapers, broken glass, and rotting food and the yard has FOUR broken down cars, a chicken coop, and about 100 mounds of trash piled all over the place.

It was built in the 70s, was next to an abandoned lot full of garbage, at the end of an industrial complex, and 2 blocks from railroad tracks.

They wanted over $400,000.

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by Medusa

I'd love to tell some stories about the houses that Jack and I viewed while looking for a house in California.

I'll start with a little blurb about a house that was completely FULL of trash, dirty diapers, broken glass, and rotting food and the yard has FOUR broken down cars, a chicken coop, and about 100 mounds of trash piled all over the place.

It was built in the 70s, was next to an abandoned lot full of garbage, at the end of an industrial complex, and 2 blocks from railroad tracks.

They wanted over $400,000.

God, how much does a NICE house cost in California??

My parents bought their house from the bank, the previous owners has been foreclosed on. I guess the previous owners had been renting it out or something - because there is NO way that people who actually owned the house would treat it like that.

They had a tonne of work to do. There were dirty needles and human feces on the floor, huge holes in the wall, graffiti, etc. Trash everywhere. They had to get these biohazard-ish suits to wear when they went in to clean it up. They got it for next to nothing, though - and since they did all the work themselves they didn't really have to put THAT much money into it. New flooring, drywall, and paint was really all that it needed. Well - that and removing of all the gross stuff.

My dad must really love my mom. My mother wanted that house for 10 years before they bought it - it was down the street from where me and my sister went to school and every time she went by she'd slow down and stare at it. When the house started to go to hell she'd rant for hours about "how could anybody treat that nice house so badly?" I guess when they found out it was for sale though the bank they went and looked at it and my dad was like "oh HELL to the no" but eventually gave it because it was mom's dream home.

It's actually a wicked cute house. Brick bungalow in an older neighborhood. Lots of trees. Too big for my tastes, though.

[Hack]

I live in Michigan. Granted, I don't live in Detroit, but I spend a lot of time there for work and for fun. I live 90 minutes to the west of the city, to be honest.

Ask most Michiganians about Detroit and you will get a lot of different reactions. Mostly, though, you will hear "it's not that bad."

Yes, a lot of asshat mayors in recent years (with the possible exception of Dennis Archer). A lot of police corruption, true.

And while there are entire sections of the city that are all but abandoned, there are also amazing, amazing parts of the city:

1. The Cultural Center District. The DIA is one of the best art museums in the country. And the African-American History Museum is superb. Not to mention the Max, home of the Detroit Symphony.

2. The Stadium District -- Comerica Park (home of the Detroit Tigers) and Ford Field (home of the hapless Detroit Lions) have spurred a strong resurgence in bars, restaurants, etc. I think there will be more good things to come.

3. Campus Martius Park -- an extraordinary public space in the heart of downtown, with the nearby Compuware Building, which has to be one of the most amazing high-tech office buildings I've ever been in. Campus Martius was recently named the top urban park in the US.

4. The Riverfront -- a lot of hard work has gone in to keeping the Detroit Riverfront PUBLIC, and not pimped out to office buildings and other private development. I'm very proud to have a small role in this through the William G. Milliken State Park, Michigan's first urban state park -- a 31-acre oasis in an urban setting, which is now connected to Eastern Market (another amazing Detroit institution) by the DeQuindre Cut, an amazing walking/jogging/biking trail that connects to sectors of the city. Oh, and by the way? The Detroit River is cleaner than ever thanks to a lot of cooperative environmental remediation. There are now people canoeing, kayaking and fishing on the river all the time. There is a healthy, diverse fishery in the river.

5. Mexicantown -- a buzzing neighborhood filled with great, authentic restaurants, bakeries and shops.

6. There is a thriving arts and music scene in Detroit. There are amazing bookstores. And most of the suburbs offer something cool as well.

I like Detroit. Yeah, it has that gritty feel to it, but the people are real, the food is diverse and good (some of the best Middle Eastern food in the country). There are more than 100 languages spoken in the city, indicative of its multi-culturalism. Don't write it off just yet. Detroit has lots of wounds to heal that go back to the race riots in the 1960s (if not further), but it is not quite down for the count.

Proud Michiganian,
Jake

[dixie]