Conversation

peep the spider-man on street view.

Spidey!

peeped

what do you think a small down scale coffee hse?

talked to a guy there today claimed to be the owner and said there were two underground tanks. said would cost $30,000 to have them taken out.

UST's are no joke. Remember, the county auction does not clear Federal liens from entities such as the EPA.

The Detroit Institute of Bagels is looking to start up their business somehow. Could they get started here? The building is not much to look at, but you could repave the parking lot, fence it in, set up outdoor seating, and do a small coffee shop or something to get the building reactivated. It is on Michigan Ave after all!

Well, you could buy the property and figure out the underground storage tanks later. Maybe some people would donate some money to help with disposal. Perhaps a Kickstarter campaign with a good small business concept to help defray some of the costs involved?

I like the ideas being kicked around on this property. Biggest drawbacks to retail here are walkability (it's about 3 blocks past Slows, people might feel uncomfortable walking that far) and size, I imagine. Pros are that it is in a prime spot as Roosevelt Park is reborn. Looking forward to hearing what ThatDetroitAndy does with it!

that building burned down months ago. it's a pile of rubble.

Why is this house already over $500K ?? Or is this now a neighbourhood of Vancouver?

We've been wondering the same thing at loveland HQ! Maybe the bidder's finger slipped and added some extra digits?

Its neighbor has no bids, so there must be some error.

Well the bid cannot be revoked and the buyer is legally obligated to buy...

/grabs popcorn

it's also odd that the last bid is one number away from the auction ID....

Yeah right this guy is never going to pay and they will be including this in there numbers saying how good the auction went!! I bet it is the guy who owns the house!!

good point that if this isn't a serious bid (which you have to assume), it will certainly throw off the total money bid on the auction. maybe we should remove it until confirmed either way? as of this writing, including this bid, the auction stats are 5,803 bids on 2,255 properties totaling $2,948,560, as seen here: http://whydontweownthis.com/live . there's enough action where subtracting this bid and getting approx $2,448,560 is still comparable, but it's a significant difference, to be sure. also, good catch on noticing the bid is basically the auction ID

i couldn't resist making an image of the updated zillow chart, in the strange event that this house sells for $531,463: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6236/6273240824_2862e6b241_o.jpg . and here's the house on zillow: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/15909-Hubbell-St-Detroit-MI-48227/88124951_zpid

If a property has been withdrawn, does that mean it didn't sell at the auction or that the owner managed to pay the back taxes?

A property can be withdrawn for any number of reasons, including the owner paid the back taxes, the owner worked out a payment plan with the county or the owner got some sort extension. If it has been withdrawn it will more than likely not show up again in this year's tax auctions. Had the property not been bid on in the first auction (the one in September), it would go to the second auction (in October) where the bidding starts at $500.

Note! This house is in Indian Village, a National Historic District and all-around great neighborhood. As soon as you move in, you'll get a newcomer's packet of information on the neighborhood -- including historic guidelines, security services, snow plowing, and social events. We strictly enforce blight ordinances, so buying a house for investment/speculation purposes (without providing regular upkeep) is not recommended. Indian Village is also an Neighborhood Empowerment Zone, which provides a discount on property taxes, for owner-occupied homes only. See also http://indianvillagedetroit.org Good luck and welcome to the winner! :-)

One other tidbit about this house - Last time I was in there a few years ago, there were white plaster carvings on one wall which appeared to be by the same WPA artist (Gustave Hildebrand?) who did work in the Brodhead Armory: https://picasaweb.google.com/116032787127536062239/BrodheadNavalArmoryDetroitMI#5166228445027727714

taxes owed for 2011 are 10,000 if i win this auction do I owe that plus the same amount every year.

someone contact me if they know abou the taxes backdoorcover@gmail.com

i think this is the tax lookup site, though i believe there's a small charge: http://www.waynecounty.com/treasurer_payonline.htm . i have to head out so i can't check it right now. please let me know if that works or not and if so we'll add it to this site as a resource.

The current building has serious fire damage and certainly the upper level needs to come down, if not the whole thing. Because it's a secluded area, the building is often targeted by arsonists. It's a shame, because it used to be a decent spot, but now Alfred Brush Ford Park is very neglected and barely used. Mariner Park is used a bit more, but mostly by people parking up their cars. I wish the city would spend some money here.

This is a large piece of waterfront property, it doesn't matter what condition it's in. There is value here.

Would love to create a "foodie court" here. It seems zoned appropriately and there are certainly enough food peeps looking for space who could help make it a reality.

you mean like getting a kitchen license and having a whole bunch of different food producers share and use the space? cool idea, and yes it would be a great location.

Yeah, or possibly having 3 or 4 smaller food businesses all doing their own thing, but on the same property. One might do bagels, another might do sausage, possibly a cheese shop, then maybe also have a small food retail spot for shelf-stable food products, and possibly some good microbrews...just as an example. :)

I like the microbrews idea. The roof would make an awesome biergarten space (should it be allowed). Get some plants up there, some parasols etc.

I might be willing to go in on backing something like this.

If any of you get this building, give me a call. I'm a five-minute-walk away and I'm looking for artisty space.

That last anonymous comment was me all along! I'm logged in now. And I still live within a five-minute walk.

City Cab still occupies the building daily and seems quite determined to stay there despite the auction.

is City Cab using the ENTIRE building, or is it under-utilized?

The whole thing.

maybe city cab let it go to auction to avoid back taxes, thinking no one would bid on it?

After talking to the city assessor’s engineer & the former owner, I have the following information on 3111 Trumbull. The house is split into 3 condos, all of which are for auction separately. The auction id’s are 522823, 522824, 522825; respectively. To buy this house you must buy them all. Further, this gives you 3 separate tax bills totaling about 7K/year. I also learned that the property is gutted down to the studs, so it would need all new everything.

You could have just looked at the online tax database and peeked through the window... The A/C units in the place are probably worth $10k alone. There is also a bunch of drywall (even a jack) left there. The roof is new, the windows are new (skylights in the top-floor master suite), and there is extensive PEX plumbing and electrical installed.

I did look through the tax database. By doing so I found out the that the house has 4 tax id’s, one for the house as a whole & one for the each of the three condos. I also have surveyed the entire house inside & out, which is how I know that there are 4 electric cans. My initial concern was that different people would unknowingly buy the three condo’s causing a problem down the line. When I found that there was a fourth tax id & electric panel, I thought there was the potential for the previous owner, or a buyer in next year’s auction, to buy the bricks, roof, basement, etc & give the condo owner(s) a hard time. For this reason I called the previous owner who let me know that the fourth tax id is no longer valid. (He also let me know that the HVAC system is set up for the addition of geo-thermal.) When I called the assessor’s engineer she confirmed that there should not be 4 tax id’s, but she still needs to do research prior to updating the tax scheme for this house. With regards to the condition of the house; it is obvious the previous owners spent A LOT of money on the gut, roof, windows, carpentry rough, & mechanical roughs, etc. However, the roof ridge was not installed properly so it leaks, about a third of the electric has been stolen, one of the 3 AC’s was scrapped, the HVAC is only partially installed, the pex was installed REALLY poorly, & all of the brass Pex fittings were stolen in quite a destructive manner. I think that the main issue that you would have, beyond everything being partially destroyed, is that the systems were all installed in more of a commercial manner than a residential way, so the contractor you will have to hire to make sense of that mess will be more expensive. That house is HUGE & the drywall in the foyer is not enough to finish one room. Also I’m pretty sure that thing in the back is not actually a drywall jack. I think it’s a manual hi-lo. Regardless, my initial point was not to dissuade anyone from purchasing this house. I live 2 blocks away and am just finishing up renovating a house that is basically a half size replica of that house. It took me 3+ years and A LOT of money. I want a good neighbor and I want to make sure that it goes to someone who knows what they are getting into & has the means to finish the house in some kind of a reasonable time frame. Included in having the means to complete the project is having the ability to pay $550/month taxes while working on the project. That is the main reason I’m not bidding on this place. I’m sure I could get this project wrapped up myself in 5-6 years but I’m not in the position to pay 35K in taxes while working on it. The house is awesome, the area is awesome, the price is a steal, I just want to make sure that the purchaser is prepared for the project they will be taking on. If you are that purchaser, I wish you the best of luck!

that's valuable information alex, thank you! would you mind sharing the websites and phone numbers you use for tax sleuthing? that whole system can be so confusing, we should share some best practices.

The first place I always look when I’m curious about a property is here: http://www.waynecounty.com/treasurer_payonline.htm . This will give you the parcel ID. If the taxes are current, it will give you the owners name only. If the taxes are past due you can see the owner’s name any all previous years’ taxes which will give you an idea of the current taxes. If the property is foreclosed, it is less helpful, but at least it confirms that that the property is actually available. From here you can just call the treasurer’s tax information line @ 313-224-5990. If the property is still owned, say you are the name from the search you just did & they will tell you the current year’s taxes. If it foreclosed, just tell them you are going to be buying the property & want to make sure you can pay the taxes. They will tell you the current taxes. Another interesting place to get info is the register of deeds: http://www.waynecountylandrecords.com/RealEstate/SearchEntry.aspx . This is searched by owner’s name only, but it allows you to see title transfer info. If you want to contact the previous owner for any reason, the easiest way I’ve found is to google and/or facebook them. Even if you can’t get their direct contact info, you should be able to get a hold of someone in their immediate family, find out where they work & call there, etc. If you know a licensed realtor they will have access to http://www.realcomponline.com . This will give you instant access to all county records including taxes, deed transfers, previous sale prices, previous listings, etc.

great info, alex, thank you. will repost!

Wow Alex, I think you just saved me from making a very costly mistake!