When Attempting Gentrification Goes Wrong

[xoxodede]

Losing your home for unpaid water bills??
And since many of these areas are considered 'lower income' aka Black, where the property values are typically lower, how the hell are taxes so high?

I know. I have challenged our property taxes over the last two years I been helping out more. They always come back that they are justified.

Oh trash bills get added as well. $200 per year -- and if you don't pay it increases with interest to your tax bill. So, you can have a 500 Summer tax bill but then they add the 200 - you don't know about the $200 charge - or can only pay the $500 then the $200 become $400 on the Winter Tax bill -- and so on. Then you have a high ass bill due to trash.

It's a trumped up biz.

 

[xoxodede]

It's the same thing my wife and I do, get you a good team of reliable handymen, because stuff is always going to tear up or need a repair.

I agree. Luckily, my dad taught me and my brother a lot - and I know how to pretty much install any electrical item - and a general "handy-man" things. I'm not licensed though.

If I'm in town - and my brother is busy - I do any repairs needed. I always surprise people when I come over to do something.

But, if I don't know how to - my dad's friends are always down to help. I need to find more people soon - cause they old men - and get tired of me sometimes.

 

[Savvir]

The good news though: I called our realtor and plan to put an offer on the house and land by next week.

 

[Crude]

I agree. Luckily, my dad taught me and my brother a lot - and I know how to pretty much install any electrical item - and a general "handy-man" things. I'm not licensed though.

If I'm in town - and my brother is busy - I do any repairs needed. I always surprise people when I come over to do something.

But, if I don't know how to - my dad's friends are always down to help. I need to find more people soon - cause they old men - and get tired of me sometimes.

You saving yourself a lot of money with that.

I can do so simple stuff like paint, put up dry wall etc, but anything plumbing and electrical I got to call the pros in.

 

[xoxodede]

You in Detroit or Mississippi or some shyt? 1k home? $200 plots?


Edit: will these places turn a profit as rentals...or any hope they’ll appreciate in ~10 years. I’ve been wanting to buy in Detroit but some neighborhoods are still dying, and looking across the rust belt, there definitely are neighborhoods that won’t ever recover, might be ghost towns in a few years

It depends. I don't think most will appreciate-cause these are Black areas - sadly. But, when whites move in they magically increase -- it's fukked up.

All in all, we never have issues getting tenants. Most of our homes are Section 8. It's usually a tenant waiting list.

We recently converted one of our places to a Veterans home -- where vets can rent and we get paid from the VA. There is also a big waiting list for these homes as well.

Earlier this year we did the first new construction in over 15 years since my dad died - We built a duplex and we sold both units in less than 3 months to two young black couples. So, again it all depends on location, design and market.

 

[dtownreppin214]

sounds like your parents set you up nice breh.

 

[xoxodede]

You saving yourself a lot of money with that.

I can do so simple stuff like paint, put up dry wall etc, but anything plumbing and electrical I got to call the pros in.

Yeah - people be wanting $100 to install a flushmount light. Or $50 to install a hardwire fire alarm. As a woman, I can say - I'm grateful now to my dad for making me go with him to work on the houses. I used to hate it.

I agree I love the pros - but they be trying to get over sometimes.

 

[Michael's Black Son]

Last year, while visiting back home I was at one of my families rentals cleaning up -- when I noticed the house across the street looking extremely different -- in a good way.

While taking trash out - I saw a White man coming out the house walking over to me - which was weird -- cause in all my life -- I have never seen a White person live in that neighborhood -- and I personally know everyone on the street and known them all my life.

Anyway come to find out the White man moved on the block -- bought his home for less than 1K -- and gutted it/renov -- as well as bought 8 land plots of recently torn down homes on the block.

When I found out I was pissed - but what could I do? He now owned the house, land -- and now the bulk of the neighborhood. And since my dad died - it's hard enough to keep up with the properties we have now.

So, fastforward to today - I have been back and forth over the last year + back home helping my mom with our real estate business. I go over to the house to install a new ceiling fan for our tenant - and I notice a "For Sale" sign on the White man's house.

I ask some of the neighbors what's up -- and what happened .

Apparently the White dude had been calling the police on everyone for everything. And they said he's really racist and talks down to everyone on the street.

He has called the police on one of the long-time neighbors who is in his 60's -- 6 times this year - cause he plays his blues and Motown oldies while he's on his porch.

Mind you 80% of the street has been there since the early 70's - and/or the homes were once their parents or grandparents.

Now, he's apparently uncomfortable and told one neighbor he doesn't feel safe -- and wants to short-sale his house and three land plots with it.

I find this hilarious and great at the same time -- that is what his ass gets for coming into an historically owned Black neighborhood trying to come up off Black folks losing their homes due to redlining practices, lack of money to keep up the taxes due to trumped up trash and water liens. And where their homes they have been in for YEARS have not gained any value -- and still have high ass property taxes and water bill liens (with interest) placed on them. Until it's so high - they lose them.

The good news though: I called our realtor and plan to put an offer on the house and land by next week.

Buy it all and anything else you can afford. Raze the derelict properties on the land, fence/board it all off and get someone to look after the land periodically so that no one is doing any fukkery on the land.

Build it up piece by piece when you can.

Do not sell under ANY circumstances.

 

[BigMan]

You saving yourself a lot of money with that.

I can do so simple stuff like paint, put up dry wall etc, but anything plumbing and electrical I got to call the pros in.

Same. I know basics (basic car fixes, painting, landscaping, dry wall) but nothing electrical or plumbing

 

[Rekkapryde]

Last year, while visiting back home I was at one of my families rentals cleaning up -- when I noticed the house across the street looking extremely different -- in a good way.

While taking trash out - I saw a White man coming out the house walking over to me - which was weird -- cause in all my life -- I have never seen a White person live in that neighborhood -- and I personally know everyone on the street and known them all my life.

Anyway come to find out the White man moved on the block -- bought his home for less than 1K -- and gutted it/renov -- as well as bought 8 land plots of recently torn down homes on the block.

When I found out I was pissed - but what could I do? He now owned the house, land -- and now the bulk of the neighborhood. And since my dad died - it's hard enough to keep up with the properties we have now.

So, fastforward to today - I have been back and forth over the last year + back home helping my mom with our real estate business. I go over to the house to install a new ceiling fan for our tenant - and I notice a "For Sale" sign on the White man's house.

I ask some of the neighbors what's up -- and what happened .

Apparently the White dude had been calling the police on everyone for everything. And they said he's really racist and talks down to everyone on the street.

He has called the police on one of the long-time neighbors who is in his 60's -- 6 times this year - cause he plays his blues and Motown oldies while he's on his porch.

Mind you 80% of the street has been there since the early 70's - and/or the homes were once their parents or grandparents.

Now, he's apparently uncomfortable and told one neighbor he doesn't feel safe -- and wants to short-sale his house and three land plots with it.

I find this hilarious and great at the same time -- that is what his ass gets for coming into an historically owned Black neighborhood trying to come up off Black folks losing their homes due to redlining practices, lack of money to keep up the taxes due to trumped up trash and water liens. And where their homes they have been in for YEARS have not gained any value -- and still have high ass property taxes and water bill liens (with interest) placed on them. Until it's so high - they lose them.

The good news though: I called our realtor and plan to put an offer on the house and land by next week.

Unforunately, they'll be back.