I spend more time than I should on Zillow and dreaming about building a real estate empire… With Detroit’s bankruptcy, I started thinking about whether things could get better one day for Detroit, or was it doomed to go into deeper and deeper recessions year after year. I remember first checking properties in Flint after Michael Moore mentioned in one of his movies that real estate was in crisis. It may have been about 7 years ago and there is no sign of improvement.
If you believe real estate will go up some day, or at least that the price of the land the house is built on is worth something, then take that $100 bill out of your wallet and go buy a house in Detroit!
This is the house I found after 2 minutes of browsing.
I love the estimated mortgage at $0, but you need to notice that the owner bought it for $600 18 months ago. He is taking an 83% loss on that one. From the looks of it, the property needs a lot of TLC, or a tear down, but just the front door will cost you more than $100 to buy new! I find it incredible that those houses don’t go at least for the price of construction. Here in Guatemala people would be tearing them down, selling scrap wood, metals and anything one can sell.
There is a larger choice of properties under $1,000, if you really feel like splurging, you can get a nice little brick house with a lovely garden for $1,250.
For many of you New York and Cali readers, it is not even the cost of one month rent! This one looks pretty cozy and in much better shape than the $100 one. If you can rent it for $200 a month, you will have a house paid for by your tenants in 6 months. Now the question is are there any tenants left in Detroit? If I were to live there for whatever reason, I would surely buy a house. Even as a student, buying this $1,250 house and living there for your 5 years of college means $20 in monthly accommodation costs. Need cash for a down payment? Qualify for a title loan and get your cash delivered fast!
Then, there are the taxes. Detroit is bankrupt, and for the few taxpayers who do pay, taxes must be through the roof. The heating bill will also be much more than $20 during those long winter months.
I also wonder where did all those people go, and if the neighborhoods are like ghost towns. Look at this one below, it is really nice. And expensive for Detroit haha. There still are chairs on the terrace and a car in the driveway, the garden is lovingly taken care of… And with all the stone work, the brick chimney, the tile roof… there is a lot of money in materials alone, much more than $17,900.
Update: This house (click to see more) is just $1, sorry I tried to sell you such expensive houses haha. And yet, it has been on sale for 2 years…
What do you think? Would you buy a $100 house or a cheap foreclosure to invest?
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I would like to see a reality tv show where people buy really cheap homes like these and try to make money by selling the furniture and materials they find from inside the houses lol. If I were to live somewhere for any extended period of time I would definitely look into buying a place regardless of price. I hope the council members in Detroit don’t try to tax homeowners too heavily. They have to find some other way to restructure their bankruptcy because a recovering housing market is essential for them to a sustain their economy. I would buy a $100 home as an investment. But with a vacancy rate of 12% in Detroit I will have to be prepared to use the property in other ways in case I can’t find a tenant. I could use it as a vacation home for the winter, or maybe even like a cabin to go camping it. The abandoned neighborhoods sound like a good place to get away from it all haha. I would make sure it has a fire place so I don’t have to pay for heating 🙂 If the property taxes aren’t too high then it will be worth it.
Wow, I’m glad you didn’t live in my Philadelphia neighborhood when we were struggling to get vacant houses occupied. Life is tough enough in a struggling neighborhood without people trying to profit off the neighbors’ misery.
Now, if you wanted to move to a struggling neighborhood and work with the residents to turn it around, that would make good television. 🙂
Hippies. Sigh…
Where do I buy these houses? I want one! Yes I would pay in person $100 for a house.
I’m inyredtrtd in buying one of your home for a 100$ please send me listing thank you Nicole
Had a company do this in Central St. Louis City Limits. If it was not nailed down, chained up and guarded, the building material and equipment walked off. These a crappy neighborhoods for a reason. So be prepared to be all ‘I’m here to help”, …..and then get everything stolen because well, you are “rich” and can afford it…
$1 homes in Detroit are equal to timeshares people were trying to offload. I believe the city goes after homeowners for back property taxes, which is a bad proposition. Although it might be fun to own a city block for $20.
back property tax might hurt but yes why not go for a big plot of land, tear everything down and leave it there until the land gathers value.
i want a manchin so i can stay in
Thanks, but It works for me! What is the phone number?
Can anyone help me find a house to buy for 100.00 in Blairsville ga or surrounding area. Thank you so much. Happy new year
The issue lies in what you will do with a house which may very well be in the middle of a ghost-suburb. With so many vacant homes, why would a renter want to live in yours as opposed to buying their own for a dollar? Would you really want to live in a house with no employment opportunities within a reasonable distance?
I heard a story about the Detroit government offering to trade residents houses for ones closer to each other as people were living with no one else within a number of blocks. The cost for rubbish pickup, emergency services etc was astronomical per person as their was no economy of scale.
Liquid – I would definitely watch that show if it was on TV! Don’t forget that using a home as a holiday home requires year round maintenance and taxes.
bringing people together wow it sounds like a war zone. In the case of that $100 house you can’t move in today, you can move in the $1,500 house I imagine though I didn’t check it still had its pipes and heating system, and sure any tenant with his sound mind would buy the house instead, although if you have bad credit and no savings you may still have to rent, I imagine landlords are fighting for tenants.
I think one issue with the Detroit houses is that many have been stripped clear by robbers. I watched a special on Detroit on CNN and they were talking about how if a whole block is abandoned that many of the houses likely have had all their pipes removed and you’d have to put a lot of money into it to make it functional again. I suppose the fact that many houses would require this sort of investment to get them back in livable form also brings down the value of houses that DO still have their pipes and whatnot.
In other words I’d steer clear of these houses!
yes, pipes, heater, electric cables and so one you are basically buying land. I may jump in for $100 but at $20,000 you have reasonable run down options in safer parts of the Midwest.
I wouldn’t buy anything in Detroit…no matter how cheap it was. It’s so sad what has happened to that city. I hope that they can find a way to bring jobs back and start rebuilding some sort of local economy.
I was there last summer and it was pretty sad indeed, I would never have imagined it could happen in the US.
What would you do after buying a house in Detroit if there are no tenants to take it? I hope this city will revive back and things would be fine for the locals
I would leave it there hoping the land appreciates but I know that’s a long shot.
I’ll buy the house for 100
Buyer beware. I thought about this and consider it at times. You just need to keep in mind that you will be paying taxes, maintenance, insurance and a lot of money to fix the house up. Even if you do that, is the neighborhood where you are buying even safe to go in? There are some areas in Detroit, and other large cities, that you don’t want to be just hanging around in.
I think I would just leave the house there to rot, worst case you lose a bit in taxes and the original $100, best case the neighborhood revives in 15 years and the land the house is built on is worth a little money.
Funny I guess I’ll be the only one taking the risk. Heck if you do a check to make sure there are no liens, the house is free and clear or better yet buy if from the bank who cares? I know I use to waste more money on shoes than these homes cost. Get one for 1k or 1$ even if you tear it down you at least got land. Heck taxes on 1k isn’t going to be that much. But thats just me.
I don’t know how taxes work but in my village, there is a house valuation that is not based on the sales price, so you pay taxes based on what the council thinks your house is worth. If Detroit charges taxes based on the value of the house 10 years ago it can be quite expensive.
Those prices are ridiculous. I have no idea what the real estate market in Detroit will look like down the road, but it seems absurd to think that a house could sell for $100. Like you said, you could get much more than that simply by selling off the parts as they exist now.
it takes money to tear down a house and transport the parts to a more affluent area but I guess you can make back a little on it.
Flint and Detroit are very different, even in size. I don’t know how quickly Detroit will bounce back or if it will make a full recovery, but I do think that it will make a recovery somehow, eventually. I can’t believe those prices!!
I know, it’s crazy, but with taxes and closing costs it can add up.
Wow! Those prices are so low. I don’t think I could live there though. I know some of our distant family members have moved to more rural areas where cost of living. I mean I think my parents live in a rural area, but not compared to where these distant family members are. Houses are cheaper there, along with everything else, but I just couldn’t imagine living there after visiting. I think moving to somewhere in South America would be cooler and more fun.
The laws of supply and demand are amazing. Even at $1/house I have no desire to own these homes. I wonder if they’ll start paying people to take these homes just to get out of the tax obligations. It’s too bad, those look like beautiful homes. Nicer than the one I currently live in. But location is everything in real estate.
Caveat emptor.
We were all about distressed places in areas that we knew them, that’s a big part of why we got or duplex so cheaply – though not $100 cheap. But for us, that just looks like you’re buying some big potential liabilities. Deferred taxes, maintenance, are there even pipes left in the structure? Are there enough people nearby to support a vacancy rate < 100%? What kind of renters would they be?
I’ve known for a while that Detroit’s real estate market was as abysmal as you’ve pointed out here, Pauline. It’s sad that fiscal mismanagement and an overall economic downturn has left Detroit with such blight. I don’t think I’d ever invest in those properties. It’d be years before you ever say a return (if ever). You’d have to spend lots of money to fix things up and for what? You’d have the only nice house while the rest of the neighborhood would be in shambles. There’s probably no public services (trash, etc.) either. Crime would be rampant. No thanks. I can get a better return elsewhere.
Reminds me of a T-shirt I saw a long time ago… “Detroit, where the weak are killed and eaten.” The sad part is the city looks like it is working its way to this. I mean it can take 58 minutes for the police to even respond to a 911 call and that might be considered quick to some. Not exactly the place I would want to be buying real estate.
So I’m guessing I am the only one of your readers (or at least commenters) who has lived in a distressed urban neighborhood? 🙂
Philly in the 1980s and 1990s wasn’t in quite as dire straits as Detroit is now but my block struggled with vacant houses, slum landlords (one was also an arsonist), and crack addicts.
We helped turn our neighborhood around by repairing vacant houses to make the neighborhood look better. A couple of us bought vacant houses to put back on the tax rolls. I bought the other side of my duplex after a drug-realted shooting forced it into the city’s notice and put it up for tax foreclosure sale.
We dealt with one out-of-town investor trying to profit on our block by taking pictures of their properties, making signs, and picketing his Princeton home so all his neighbors could see how he made his money.
Detroit will bounce back because its remaining people have spirit and guts. They’re even feistier than Philadelphians. And I wouldn’t want to see how they would treat outside investors who, as Liquid suggested above, tried to profit by stripping houses.
If you want to make a cheap, risky real estate investment, I’d bet on Detroit. But I wouldn’t do it unless I was committed to living there and bringing smarts, money, and time into helping my neighbors bring their block back.
it takes a lot of effort and a lot of people to upgrade a neighborhood, glad you managed to do it with yours, I bought in a distressed neighborhood but 10 years later decided to sell because it was not getting any better, and it was 15 miles from Paris so I was betting on the suburbs expanding eventually, and the surrounding towns were fine but that one was a pocket of delinquency and crime that didn’t improve.
Wow, that is unbelievably sad. I’m not overly familiar with Detroit but it’s sad to see it in such a poor state. Those prices are shockingly low but you know when they are THAT low and no one is snapping them up – it’s not a good thing. Finding good renters might be an issue too. But if you have the ability to buy now and are willing to hold onto the land until Detroit rebounds (which I hope it does eventually), you could end up making money, although you might have to be very, very patient.
From what I understand some have arrears in taxes many times over the house price, and you can find better deals in a non bankrupt area in the Midwest even with a low budget.
For a moment I had dreams of creating a real life game of Monopoly. On second thought, I wouldn’t go near Detroit unless I was forced to. I passed through there before all of this mess and I wouldn’t have considered it even then.
I remember the center to be quite decent but haven’t ventured into those neighborhood, from what I read they look pretty scary.
I would never invest in a blighted area like the areas of Detroit with $1 houses. (If you notice, there is no roof on that house.) I feel sorry for the people who are stuck in those neighborhoods because they have nowhere else to go.
Yes, the roof and a ton of other details you don’t see on the pic probably make it a bad investment even for $1.
I would definitely buy property during bad times, as this is often how today´s millionaires earned their fortunes during the last financial down-time.
btw, what´s up with the crazy cheap pretty colonial house?? these are crazy times, crazy times..
there has to be a hidden defect somewhere, or the area is really, really bad.
I remembered that I wrote about the Detroit housing crisis back in March 2008.
Things have gotten worse since then. I would never buy a house in Detroit or any other blighted area unless I lived there, as several others have mentioned.
Yes, that would be quite the gamble.
That house for $17k is nice looking! I feel bad for Detroit. I’m from Ohio and everyone constantly rips on Detroit and its crime rate. I had heard that houses went for cheap, but I thought they were exaggerating when they said “a few grand”.
Honestly, I don’t think I’d have the guts to invest in a place in Detroit. I wouldn’t want to live there and I don’t have enough faith that the city will turn around so others want to live there. Like you said, who would rent when buying is so cheap?
I guess many people don’t have access to a mortgage and don’t have 17K in savings, plus for the houses without roof or plumbing it takes much more than the buying cost to renovate.
Detroit’s population is currently about a third of what it was at its peak and there is no particular reason why the decline should stop now. I wouldn’t touch these.
the decline in population is scary but I wonder how easy it would be for them to drag Canadians from the other side of the border who pay a lot more for their houses. In France many people live in France and work in Switzerland or Luxemburg it is a 20 minute commute and life is much cheaper.
Wow, it’s so sad that this is where Detroit finds itself. Houses selling for ridiculously low prices many people can’t fathom. I definitely wouldn’t bother with anything there – not sure what it will look like in a few years, though I hope things get better. That’s so crazy they are trying to get people to live closer together…it must feel like a ghost town compared to how many people used to live there.
That city might become the biggest ghost town on the planet.
Sad…
As soon as the city bankruptcy was announced I definitely was curious to see what real estate was going for in Detroit. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t be buying the property for whatever “house” was sitting on it, it’s all about buying the land. Buy a nice big lot and yes wait it out. Hey you could even go and just start planting garden’s there, from what I’ve read before fresh veggies and fruit are hard to come by in Detroit.
Wow! its amazing how this city has literally become a ghost town, but at the same time sad and disappointing to see how the economy and decisions of individuals have brought it to this state. I often wonder if it will ever see a recovery?
Pauline! What an eye opening post! I hate for anyone to suffer, but events such as these help people, especially US citizens, understand that they are not immune to these kinds of economic disasters or any disasters for that matter. There is a tremendous vibe of complacency here. Detroit ought to be a wake up call, but like many other catastrophes, I doubt it will be. Something worse and even more shocking will be needed to grab attention and stimulate change.
Like others have said, the issue is what I would do with the house after I bought it if there was no one to rent it. There’s no point in my opinion if there is no market or I’m not living in it myself UNLESS I took the risk that some miracle would happen and the price of real estate goes through the roof.
These prices are nuts! I almost want my city to go bankrupt… almost.
Don’t know if this adds any value, but according to Zillow, there are 8 metro areas in the US that have lower average housing prices than Detroit. They are (from low to high): Saginaw MI, Mobile AL, Youngstown OH, Augusta GA, South Bend IN, Rockford IL, Ft. Smith AR, Macon GA, and then Detroit IL. Another large bankrupt city, Stockton metro ($197,400) has a much higher average home price than Detroit metro ($91,600).
I am from Michigan (though not Detroit) and I hope to have real estate empire one day. Would I buy a house in the actual city? No. People have left to some of the booming suburbs for a reason. It isn’t safe in Detroit. Reliable tenants only want to live in specific “revival areas.” I love my home state (other parts of the state are amazing), but you have to invest in cities that can sustain its population. Jobs coming in and staying. Being a young 20-something myself, I just moved from Michigan to New Orleans.
seems similar to where my grandparents live, all the young people want to leave for greener pastures. Revival areas will hopefully expand but it may take decades.
Very interesting! It’s all about location to me but I personally couldn’t fix up a house or condo so I wouldn’t buy a fixer upper. But its a great deal for those handy people!
I’ve written about this on my blog, it was a few years back. The idea of $1 or simply very low priced houses intrigued me.
However, a few years later it’s something that seems like a bad idea. It’s Detroit we are talking about, a city with innumerable problems. A city that has shrunk from nearly 2 million people 50 years ago to under 800,000 now. The crime rate is horrific, schools reputed to be similarly a disaster, and the city is broke.
Some suburbs are very nice, but the actual city itself is awful. A city needing all the tax revenue it can get but facing economic disaster is what Detroit seems to be.
I spent a few months there around 15 years ago….and say stay away. It’s fool’s gold, a mirage. I know it’s often good to zig when others zag, but this may be a case of getting what you pay for.
Wow, yeah, it’s pretty sad there, the whole situation. I can’t imagine a big town like that being virtually abandoned. My great uncle lived in a super small town in the Midwest, far away from everything, and when he died, they sold his house for $500. We thought a bit about buying a house over there and just retiring. We’d be lonely, but we’d be financially free. 🙂
I found a $1 house and this one is a house with 5 bedrooms for $100. The house really looks nasty actually. But, I would buy it for $100 and get the Land for myself. I’ll remove the house and sell the land and get a better house on for sale Potts Point.
it may cost quite a bit to put the house down and remove all the crap, I don’t know what the land is worth but probably more than $100…
What you didn’t say, is that the houses on zillow and real estate.com are going to cost you an average of $2000 right up front.
With housing prices at all time low, now is great time to buy. There are many cheap Detroit properties currently for sale, and now, anyone can buy these through real estate auction websites (such as ) which offer $1 no reserve auctions.
Wow, that’s very tempting! If I had the money I would consider the brick one as a holiday home and wait until the market gets better to be able to rent it out more frequently (or permanent). I’m actually looking into buying a flat in the cheapest part of Germany (a city full of students and tourists) to use it for that purpose…
I feel sorry for the owners, though… How desperate do you have to be to sell property for that cheap…
Have you read that post on the guy who bought a house in a horrible neighbourhood in Detroit and renovated it all by himself? He lives there with his fierce dog now (and a rifle, I imagine) and is constantly working on working on his home and doing something for the neighbourhood. I found that very impressive.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/drewphilp/why-i-bought-a-house-in-detroit-for-500
Wow, things must be tough in Detroit for property to be driven that low. There must be something profitable that could be done with land in that area, but in a ghost town, what is there?
I wonder how much the whole street would cost?!
Stunning, no doubt, its really miserable there, the entire circumstance. I can’t envision a major town like that being essentially relinquished.
That house for is pleasant looking! I feel terrible for Detroit. I’m from Ohio and everybody always tears on Detroit and its wrongdoing rate. I had heard that houses went for shoddy, however I thought they were misrepresenting when they said “a couple of amazing”.
I would probably buy a cheap house to invest. Like you said, even the first house you pictured, which is really beaten down, probably goes for less money than you could get selling its scrap wood and metal. I might have to check out a real estate auction so I can find a cheap house of my own to invest in. Thanks for the article.
Stunning, that is extremely enticing! On the off chance that I had the cash I would consider the block one as an occasion home and hold up until the business sector shows signs of improvement to have the capacity to lease it out all the more every now and again (or perpetual). I’m really investigating purchasing a level in the least expensive piece of Germany (a city loaded with understudies and visitors) to utilize it for that reason…
I feel frustrated about the proprietors, however… How edgy do you need to be to offer property for that shoddy…
Have you perused that post on the person who purchased a house in an unpleasant neighborhood in Detroit and remodeled everything without anyone else’s input? He lives there with his savage puppy now (and a rifle, I envision) and is always taking a shot at taking a shot at his home and supporting the area. I found that exceptionally amazing.
no I have not! do you remember where and have a link?
I can’t believe houses are this cheap! It could be beneficial to just buy one and live in it a few years. Unfortunately its a result of the housing crisis, and hopefully we will recover.
These are excellent project properties. From what we do, buying houses that have gone through water, fire, or other types of damage, it’s great to take on a project like that and make it something really awesome. I think people don’t realize that real estate investment is damn near a necessity for communities. Investors that rehab and flip homes can bring restore a property that otherwise may have just sat there until it crumbles because most people can’t get a loan for a property that is in bad condition on their own.
Looking for a new house sometimes is frustrating. Lucky there are real estate agents that will speed up all the process of moving and finding a new home.
Wow, it’s interesting that there would be a 5-bedroom house for only a hundred dollars! Yes, I do believe that a real estate can appreciate its value in the future. I will certainly be forwarding this article to my brother because he is currently looking for a house.
i do not know if i am the only person that grew up in the hood on this site but i always opened my door to every one and that ways they knew my neighborhood was mine and theirs was theirs. and yes a replaced deadbolt is a good idea every month even if some one did have the key it will make you feel more secure.
I also want to buy a house of 100 dollar. Where i will find this kind of deal. Paranormal activities, any incident in past doesn’t mateer, can anyone give me the contact information
I want to buy a house of 100 dollars if possible, actually I want to live there
That was so cheap. I hope that house and lot for sale in Cavite have that same price. hahaha..
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Buying your first property can be an overwhelming process. The home loan market is complex and competitive. You need to compare as many loans as possible to make sure you’re getting the right rate and features. You also need to know what types of home loans are available.
I am interested in one of these homes.