Posted on 05/29/2014 2:49:35 PM PDT by Mikey_1962
Detroit spent as much as $537,000 per home renovating 30 houses starting in 2011 under a federal program to fight blight before selling most for less than $100,000 each, according to a newspaper's investigation published on Thursday.
The Detroit Land Bank transformed eyesores into gems, with features such as glass-tiled bathrooms, stainless steel appliances, underground sprinkler systems and, in some cases, geothermal heating, The Detroit News reported
A goal was to entice middle class families into the East English Village and Boston Edison neighborhoods. Land bank Executive Director Richard Wiener, who took over in January, said officials "are now moving in a different direction."
The bank is working to sell the last three homes in the program. It spent nearly $8.7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on 30 homes. So far, sales have brought in about $2 million.
An average of $290,000 was spent on each home, with the 13 most expensive ones costing $300,000 to $537,000 apiece. Susan Hanafee learned from The News that $430,000 was spent on the three-story Boston Edison home she bought last year for $80,000.
"It kind of makes me sick," she said. "It didn't really need that much rehab. ... It makes me sad to think about the money that was poured into a particular house and ... to know my neighbors are having to scrape enough together to put a new roof on."
(Excerpt) Read more at therepublic.com ...
I took a Google Earth visit to Detroit yesterday. Some streets were so devoid of homes, I thought I was out in the country. Actually, I was’t very far from downtown Detroit.
When you hear of true excess such as this at a municipal level, you need to take a look at who had sign off on spending, and with whom it was spent as far as contractors and suppliers. The kickbacks and insider deals are insane and seldom prosecuted. The really gold-plated ones, I would not be surprised to find some sort of close connection with the buyers as well.
When the federal government gets involved in `flipping’ real estate, it spends 500K and makes 100K?
Only Uncle Sam can stay in business losing 400K per sale.
It’s money out of our pockets, but oh yeah—it’s for the `greater good’ ...
If no one will buy these parcels `as is,’ bulldoze them, haul off the trash and sell them at tax sale for—gee I dunno, garden plots.
Federal money = federal rules on hiring the contractors = racial set asides for mostly black contractors. This is just $8.7 million transferred from the taxpayers to blacks, nothing more.
Nice!
Typical government work.
Typical government work.
There are some gorgeous houses being sold for a song in Detroit, I know that. It sickens me to see great houses, whole neighborhoods of them at times, being left to rot and vandalism. This sort of program is ripe for being played by those who only know playing programs, though. It would be an interesting exercise to determine what connection if any that the buyers of these properties might have with city officials. The really elaborate renovations, especially.
The Detroit city council actually wants the blight as a means of attracting federal money. Its why they put up signs warning people against mowing grass in front of abandoned houses in bad neighborhoods. Then the money is “invested” in places that really don’t need the money.
Sadly the same thing is going on in medium to large cities all across the country. A week or so back I posted some photos from around the country to one of these Detroit porn threads and I wasn’t at all surprised that few FReepers had the courage to acknowledge them.
I wonder what those houses will look like in 5 years......
DISMANTLE the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Investigate H.U.D, the Detroit Land Bank, the Michigan Land Bank and MEDC.
BIG GOVERNMENT IS CRONY SOCIALISM
Socialism Is Legal Plunder - Bastiat
The plunder continues, unchecked, unaccounted, unquestioned.
Detroit has lots of potential as a Free City project. Conservatives could by home a block at time and improve it. But also get politically involved to improve the climate for home owners, small, medium, and large businesses, and get the finances of the city on track.
Interesting, 'creek. Thanks for posting.
Steve Crowder visits Detroit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hhJ_49leBw
With 50,000 - 100,000 like-minded FReepers/lurkers moving in Detroit (with its international border) could be a magnificent city within a decade.
Detroit - where every democrat ‘program’ AND idea was tried - and failed...
Lots of “Hipsters” moving into the city these days. They’re largely transferring from New York and Boston and finding that their money goes about 3 times further in Detroit so they’re spending a lot.
As far as conservatism is concerned, you certainly won’t find too many freer cities than Detroit. I was over there last summer and met an old man walking down the street carrying a bag of groceries and had an AR-15 slung over his shoulder. When police slowed down to take a look they were more interested in what I was doing in that neighborhood.
Because you weren’t carrying like him?
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