fizzy

Hi all,

I am from the UK and have been offered to buy a 3 bed house for 30k ($48,000 USD) that has tenants and is rented out just wondered if anyone has done this and is it worth taking a risk?

thanks all

penguinsix

No, it is not worth the risk, unless you are going to live in Detroit and do this full time.

How far is the house from a fire station? What is the name of a good plumber who can fix a broken toilet on a weekend near the house? How many murders were on the street last year? Are the drug dealers still slinging across the street in the crack house that was there six months ago? What school would the kids go to if they lived there? When was the last termite inspection? How high is the water table at that location and does the sewer back up in high rain situations? What is the credit rating of the current tenants and do they have a police record?

All real estate is local. There is a reason they are trying to punt off properties in absolute crap cities to people overseas--because they don't know the answers to the questions above and are relying only on media stories about 'the foreclosure mess' in the US.

There are much more lucrative (and safer) places to put your money closer to home.

See also this thread (you are not the first person to ask this question):

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hlight=detroit

Good luck.

Elvira

What you said.

Incidentally, you have the patience of a saint. When I saw the OP, the only response I could think of was

fizzy

thanks so much for your reply - it did sound too good to be true, its just my friends have done it and are already getting the rent each month.

Thank you again much appreciated

sir_eccles

It's a scam. Either your friends are lying because they are embarrassed or they are about to get a shock as the end of the game plays out.

fizzy

I did see the payments that they have received as I must admit was nearly convinced as its suppose to be government backed.... do you think they will get money for abit then it will just stop? thank goodness I remembered the good old British expat site.

sir_eccles

"Government backed" = definite scam

Actually the government backing is probably HUD section 8

ljaw2002uk

Just from watching the news I know that Detroit is in a sorry state. They have something in the region of 33,000 abandoned homes. I understand the situation is so dire that the city is demolishing many.

I wouldn't even consider investing your money there.

scrubbedexpat099

There was a thread on this very subject a few months ago.

Fool and money etc.

1chumly

I wouldn't walk away from this, I would run like hell!

Tarkak9

In the same theme of the bundled loans - If its such a great lucrative deal and return on investment, why try to pitch it overseas? (..flag 1!!)There are plenty of people stateside who'd jump all over it but obviously haven't ... for a reason.

Poppy girl

I am with you on this except Detroit hell nooooo!!!

Ray

http://detroitiscrap.com/detroit-picture-gallery/

md95065

Yes - this could be yours for only $48,000 ...



If buying property in Detroit was really such a good investment you have to ask yourself why whoever is behind this is looking for investors outside the US - why haven't all of these "bargains" been snapped up already by people in the immediate area.

Even if some of your friends have got some money back it doesn't mean that the scheme is necessarily even remotely legitimate - it could be some kind of Ponzi Scheme or they might just be getting some of their own money back for a few months so that they will tell all of their friends what a wonderful investment it is.

Cape Blue

Did you read the text on the website - they're a nice bunch!