The Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) has launched a new, improved website, buildingdetroit.org. The site is the main platform used by the Detroit Land Bank to sell properties since it started in May of 2014. New features on the site include: Improved property search options, including drawable maps, zip code, street, district, and neighborhood search […]
A handsome 100-year-old, two-flat in North Corktown for under $1,000 looked like such a deal at a Wayne County tax auction Jon Zemke couldn’t resist buying it on the spot. He was a third-generation home-rehabber and landlord, already flush with six properties in his Detroit portfolio. What could possibly go wrong? Practically everything, he says […]
This column begins a monthly series featuring the insights of Austin Black II, founder of City Living Detroit, a full-service, real estate brokerage firm based in Detroit. One of the city’s leading brokers, Black has earned praise for his success at increasing homeownership in city neighborhoods and surrounding areas. This month he shares insight about […]
Krystal Spears had paid her rent diligently but still received an eviction notice because, unbeknownst to her, the landlord had failed to pay the property taxes on the home in southwest Detroit. The notice came nearly four years ago. It began a very stressful time for Krystal, worrying about where she and her two children […]
Ground zero for the 1967 civil disturbance is becoming ground zero for neighborhood transformation thanks to involved citizens and the Detroit Planning and Development Dept. A standing-room-only crowd at a recent Rosa Parks/Clairmount Community forum sought a hundred ways to preserve historical buildings and increase density of homes and retail. With the renovation of the […]
As an investor in Detroit neighborhoods, I can’t help but notice the vast opportunity for residents to achieve the American Dream of homeownership and financial independence. Whether it’s a family buying their first home or an investor buying property for additional cash flow, there has not been a better time to buy in Detroit. For […]
A veritable baby boom is happening in the Woodward Village neighborhood of Detroit. Two children will be born in June and at least six tykes are under five years old. On warm days families glide up and down Lawrence Street with strollers and wagons. “People are so friendly here, they are invested in being part […]
Long before smokestacks from Detroit’s factories became part of the city’s landscape, it was lush with plants and trees. The city was so fertile the French, who settled on the city’s east side and developed ribbon farms, didn’t have to do much to cultivate the land. Now many of the factories have shuttered their doors […]