DIY Detroit Investors BEWARE: Squatters, Stolen Utilities, City Inspections -- OH MY!
/Here is why Detroit investing is still the best financial investment in the USA. But don't do it yourself! You need an expert to buy an investment property from. An expert you can trust! Scams everywhere!
We buy houses in Detroit, remove the squatter, renovate the house, prepare it for the city certification, then sell it to a savvy investor, usually from out of the state or out of the country. The locals here won't buy in Detroit because of stories like these on the news. Out-of-state and out-of-country investors see the numbers and the numbers don't lie. They aren't emotionally charged about the messes still happening in Detroit. These messes help keep the house prices low so I'm not bothered by them as someone without experience would be.
I sent out letters to tired landlords all over Detroit. The response was quite good so I was able to buy a handful of the best ones. We did NOT buy this house. I negotiated with the seller, Nancy, for a few months. She insisted on $35,000. She got me up to $30,000, which would cut into our profit too much so we were glad we didn't get the house.
We did acquire other houses that have involved squatter removal. It's a LENGTHY process.
1. Offer cash for keys. No one right now will take it because they either want too much money (more than holding costs and legal fees) or they know they get 3 more months of free lodging or they don't care about having an eviction on their record because they already have one.
2. Send a 30-day notice. They have 30 days to leave.
3. File. It takes about 10 days to get a court date which is another 20 or so days out.
4. That first court date gets automatically adjourned so the poor squatter can ensure free legal help. No free legal help for the landlords who are giving up their properties as homeless shelters these days.
5. Court date. The tenant has another 10 days to leave. If the landlord wants money for the freebie months, it can take longer because the court gets the free lawyer to apply to the State for the rental assistance. I believe that is over June 30, 2022 though.
6. If they don't move out, we can get a bailiff. I'm not sure how long it takes to get the bailiff these days because I haven't had to go this far yet, thank goodness, since 2020 when things shut down. But I've heard the bailiffs are only doing around 3 evictions a week instead of 3/day. That's how hard it is to get to this step.
We only sell a few investment houses a month and we're starting to sell houses retail on the MLS for more money. If you'd like to invest in Detroit, don't dilly-dally! Cash buyers get top priority. We sell a typical 3-bedroom renting for $1,000/month for $72,000 right now. Email me to set up a call to get on my list. I have houses we haven't even started to renovate yet already committed to buyers.
Exclusive Buyer List: www.GreatDayPropertyManagement.com/exclusive-buyer-list We only sell a couple of houses a month. This is step 1 to join our waiting list.