Detroit's outlook falls along with home prices

You reap what you sow....you can only go to the tiller so msny times without consequences, isn't that Rep. Conyers?

I want an investigation into Conyer's office. You will find all kinds of dirty money.

I wondered why are people moving out of Detroit and why won't newcomers buy homes there? Usually when homes are a bargain, free market forces will cause people to gobble them up and build a new thriving community, unless the free market is tainted by the government.

So I did a little research...

An important issue that the article fails to mention is that Detroit has outrageous property tax rates. From the Detroit News "A Detroiter with a newly purchased $200,000 home will pay about $6,700 in property taxes." Looks like many homes indetroit can't be sold because the property taxes would be higher than the mortgage payment.

This is more outrageous than Lake County, Illinois, where property taxes are merely equal to one's mortgage payment!!

IMHO wrote:

I wondered why are people moving out of Detroit and why won't newcomers buy homes there? Usually when homes are a bargain, free market forces will cause people to gobble them up and build a new thriving community, unless the free market is tainted by the government.
So I did a little research...
An important issue that the article fails to mention is that Detroit has outrageous property tax rates. From the Detroit News "A Detroiter with a newly purchased $200,000 home will pay about $6,700 in property taxes." Looks like many homes indetroit can't be sold because the property taxes would be higher than the mortgage payment.
This is more outrageous than Lake County, Illinois, where property taxes are merely equal to one's mortgage payment!!

I am not sure what numbers you are using. I live in Lake Co and my $200K homes tax bill for the year was almost $5,800. That is almost 4 mortgage payments of my 20-year mortgage.

These houses are from the 40s,50s era and they look like a small barn......

I,ve lived, worked in and around Detroit most of my life.This article was spot on many points but this city's problems go back decades. As they lost their industrial base and the city's infrastructure fell apart they built casinoes, stadiums, and luxury hotels.All sit empty.

The Motor city has no light rail and a worthless mass transit system.The city council behave like spoiled children in public while helping themselves and friends line their pockets.

Detroit has all it's own laws and building codes seperate from state law which can be changed depending how much cash you got along with a quta of 51% of all jobs going to city residents regardless of ability.

I do belong to a union,but if you add the rules of a dozen unions in that mix it makes the cost doing bussiness in Detroit costly and confussing.

If the city stopped acting like it was seperate from the state. If it it could look long term and diversify it's industrial base.If they would put effort in building a city instead of amusment parks for the rich it might survive and not bring the rest of the stste down with it.

Metro Detroit is it's own worst enemy. They hate Detroit and don't see how the rest of the country considers them Detroit.

The city should just plow down all the vacant buliding and homes. Folks should be able to move to the area of the city that has a chance to survive. The vacant land should be used for farming or else a new city.

Detroit casinos, hotels and stadiums do not sit vacant. Folks from the suburbs come into downtown for events. The problem is no one lives in Detroit.

It is full of vacant homes.

Ryoki

It sounds like you are one of those folks from the suburbs who pride themselves on never coming into the city.

Why is that?

Michigan Native:
Generally speaking, in order to be a "racist" you must invoke race into the discussion. While Matt in Chicago's post might appear insensitive, it is racially neutral. Interestingly, by dismissing his comments as simply “racist,” you become a bigot, which is a racist without the race, as your comment is clearly intolerant of those in which you disagree.

IMHO wrote:

... the Detroit News "A Detroiter with a newly purchased $200,000 home will pay about $6,700 in property taxes." Looks like many homes indetroit can't be sold because the property taxes would be higher than the mortgage payment.
This is more outrageous than Lake County, Illinois, where property taxes are merely equal to one's mortgage payment!!

You also forget that Detroit has a 3% income tax! If you work in the city, but don't live there you pay 1.5%. If you work AND live in the city, it's a full 3%. You'd be amazed to see the total lack of city services that these taxes provide.

Also, keep Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers (US Rep. John Conyers' wife). She was recently noted to be one of the "Top 5 Political Embarassments of All Time" due to her inability to put Detroit and its citizens ahead of her own selfish interests.

But the real problem is that folks in this city can't take any criticism (or advice) from anyone in the suburbs without alleging racism.

Once we realize that some white people just really do want to help, and aren't attacking because of race, things will get better. But if we can't get over that, we're in real trouble.

Michigan Native wrote:

Ryoki
It sounds like you are one of those folks from the suburbs who pride themselves on never coming into the city.
Why is that?

I know it says under my name Blookmfield Hills but I don't live in that rich,white suburb. I've worked in the city for the most of the last 10 years. In that time I saw it rot slowly from the inside out.
From C. Young to K. Killpatrick each one looked for a quick flashy fix that fell flat. Remember Trappers Ally? Asian village? The Ren-Cen? The People Mover? These things didn't bring in the growth and investment needed and I don't see how casinoes(which 1 of the 3 new ones already has money problems even before it opens while the other 2 are laying off)and stadiums(how many sports events can a laid off worker afford?)and hotels(the Book can't sell all it's condos while Motor City sits vacant most of the time) can save Detroit any more then these past projects did.
With me you mentioned the suburbs and mentioned race in another comment. What has either of these have to do with Detroits economic problems? Other then turn the argument away from the real issues

It is tough when an out-of-town newspaper hack phones in a story filled with negative generalities.

The article quotes a guy who moved into town in 2001, but quotes him about 1967; why not quote him about the crash of 1891? He wasn't in town then either.

The Hack then quotes a law professor about immigration statitics. Why not quote him about global warming, the trade imbalance, or Blagovitch?

Detroit has problems, but the biggest is letting Trib reporters in the front door.

Its a snowy nite in Detroit,this means a baby boom here.....

With Mayor Daley at Chicago's helm I fear that Chicago will be the next Detroit in 20 years. Crime is getting out of control, the schools are the worst in the nation, the streets don't get plowed anymore, the CTA is horrible and the Olympics will bankrupt us.

Worried Chicagoan wrote:

With Mayor Daley at Chicago's helm I fear that Chicago will be the next Detroit in 20 years. Crime is getting out of control, the schools are the worst in the nation, the streets don't get plowed anymore, the CTA is horrible and the Olympics will bankrupt us.

Then get outta there.....

Price of home falling? Heck, the homes are falling!

IF, that's a big word to some; IF each person had a broom to sweep a portion of the street - they'd see how much nicer things could look and perhaps keep doing that sweeping.

Oh yes, I know that City Hall needs to be swept as well.

Let's hope that once all the dust settles re the current uproar things will even out and get back on the right track. It won't happen over night however it CAN happen if the people want it bad enough!

Xanadu wrote:

Price of home falling? Heck, the homes are falling!
IF, that's a big word to some; IF each person had a broom to sweep a portion of the street - they'd see how much nicer things could look and perhaps keep doing that sweeping.
Oh yes, I know that City Hall needs to be swept as well.
Let's hope that once all the dust settles re the current uproar things will even out and get back on the right track. It won't happen over night however it CAN happen if the people want it bad enough!

it seems to me the U.S is being colonized by mexicans and is turning into a country like mexico before ours eyes which makes them feel right at home but our water is better to drink than theirs.....

Just for the record, I now live in Chicago (not the suburbs) and grew up in Detroit (not the suburbs). Detroit and its magnificent decaying buildings show up in my dreams often.

It must be clear to everyone who stops to think a minute that the out-of-scale property taxes in Detroit are an attempt to maintain revenue from a declining housing base. Just because there are 10 houses on a street that used to have 20 doesn't mean you can get by with fewer streetlights or miles of roadway. This was beginning to be a losing battle even when my family still owned our home on the city's northwest side (we sold in 1981 after my aging mother could not longer physically keep up the yard and property).

For those who say Chicago will be in Detroit's shoes in 20 years, I suggest some critical thinking about the economic and physical realities of the two places. I ponder this all the time, and it always seems to come down to infrastructure maintenance, one alderman per neighborhood in Chicago, and diversity of business and industry. Anyone want to discuss (and not call names)?

Dirty Liberals wrote:

You reap what you sow....you can only go to the tiller so msny times without consequences, isn't that Rep. Conyers?
I want an investigation into Conyer's office. You will find all kinds of dirty money.

Illinois= Blagojevich.
This state is stained for ever.