Detroit’s Thousand-Dollar Blight Homes Still on the Market

The program of Detroit officials to rebuild their town still continues. There are a dozen blighted homes that are being offered in the Building Detroit website for only a thousand dollars.

Here are the requirements needed in order to take part in the auction for $1000 homes, according to 24/7 Wallstreet:

• You must be a Michigan resident,a non-Michigan resident who will live in the property after rehab, or a company or organization authorized to do business in Michigan.
• You, or any legal entity in which you have an ownership interest, cannot have unpaid delinquent property taxes on properties located in Wayne County, or have lost property to back taxes in Wayne County in the last three years.
• You, or any legal entity in which you have an ownership interest, cannot have material unresolved blight or code violations in the City of Detroit.
• You cannot have won a previous auction and then failed to make the down payment, close on the purchase, or satisfy the conditions of bringing the property up to code and having it occupied within six months (or nine months for homes located in a historic district).

If you won the auction, here are a number of requirements you need to comply with:

• Within 30 days after closing, you must provide the Land Bank an executed copy of a contract to rehabilitate the home. If you can demonstrate to the Land Bank that you have the skills to rehab the house yourself, within 30 days after closing you must provide the Land Bank with a plan of work and receipts showing you have purchased the materials necessary.

• Many of these properties were originally built using lead-based paint, asbestos, or other hazardous materials. If available, environmental reports will be provided to winning bidders. It is recommended that homeowners seek professional advice on how to properly address hazardous materials.
• Within six months after closing (nine months for homes located in a historic district), you must provide the Land Bank with a Certificate of Occupancy, or Certificate of Approval for the house and demonstrate that the house has an occupant.
• If you fail to meet these deadlines, you will forfeit both your purchase price and the property, and are forbidden to bid in all future auctions.

Interested parties can visit Building Detroit for more information.