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Originally Posted by PiKA2001
I've never looked into E. Indian Village but I did look at houses in Indian Village, Boston-Edison, Palmer Woods, and Sherwood Forest and none of the foreclosed houses I saw in those neighborhoods were city owned, they were all bank owned. Are they going to be acquiring these properties from the banks and then giving them away? Detroit has been struggling in recent years to figure out what to do with all the city held properties, so I just assumed that this program would be giving away the houses they currently owned.
You'll never find a good insurance rate in those neighborhoods because of the older housing stock. I'm naive when it comes to home owners insurance but what would happen if there was catastrophic damage to a B-E home? It would cost over a million dollars to replicate the craftsmanship of those houses so if there was a fire that took out a wing of the home then what? There wouldn't be a $20,000 fix, the insurance company would probably have to buy the house then tear it down. The also do get a tax break because these hoods(at least B-E) is subject to the NEZ tax break BUT I think that still leaves them at a mill rate of 56 which I still think is too high considering the lack of services and security you get living in Detroit. I'd like to see Detroit go down to a mill rate of 35-40. I might even consider buying a home in the city again if I ever make my way back there with those rates.
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On top of the huge property taxes, they also have to pay resident income tax rates so 3% instead of 1.5%. It isn't just home owner's insurance either. If you live in the city proper, your auto insurance quadruples.
I do know two people who simply walked away from their homes in Detroit because of the taxes and insurance, which I think is completely irresponsible.
As for how the city came to own these homes, I believe it's all part of the deal where the city is buying up abandoned houses. In most cases, it's to be able to just level a whole block/neighborhood that is abandoned. In those empty spaces, people are building community gardens and parks. It's kind of amazing. Was Woodbridge Pub there on Trumbull when you were around? They've actually turned an empty lot into a garden that they use to grow food for the restaurant. They are only serving Michigan foods too. Their menu changes seasonally to adjust to what is available at the time. Very cool concept.