Many Chinese think Detroit housing is a great investment

Digital Journal ^ | July 25, 2013 | Ken Hanly

[kevcol]

Sina Finance reports that since the bankruptcy on July 18 was announced, the Chinese website Sina Weibo has been all abuzz about how properties can be picked up for a pittance. Caroline Chen, a real estate broker in Troy, Michigan, claims to have received numerous calls from people in China. Chen says that some people have called and said they want to buy 100 to 200 properties. She said that a colleague recently sold 30 properties to a Chinese buyer. The buyer said we don't need to see the properties just pick the good ones.

[Cyber Liberty]

It sounds pretty bad. Most of the sales are sight-unseen, and no way for the buyer to ever visit the property. It’s telling that most of the investors that did manage to get to Detroit, unannounced, walked away as fast as they could after a taxi ride.

[Beagle8U]

” The buyer said we don’t need to see the properties just pick the good ones.”

They better buy homes all in the same area and plan to defend it like a frontier fort!

[fso301]

Actually, the cloud will probably last as long as the city is in bankruptcy but one never knows if hussein might decide to bail the city out by sticking property owners with responsibility for the city’s debts.

[vladimir998]

Useless land is still useless isn’t? You would have to pay taxes on the land; you couldn’t build anything with terrible cost and no hope of making a profit because the economy in Detroit is dying.

[Alberta's Child]

One problem in a place like Detroit is that most properties aren't even assets anymore ... they're liabilities. That's why there have been a number of properties in Detroit in recent years that have been listed at $1 -- with no takers. If the prospects of doing anything meaningful with the property are years away, then demolition costs and the cost of carrying the property (mainly insurance and taxes) are likely to exceed any investment returns you may get in the long run.

Interesting that the Chinese are interested in buying these properties, though. This is one way we are likely to recover much of the massive U.S. trade deficit with China.

[Mercat]

Rush was talking about buying the whole town and naming it Limbaughville.

[volunbeer]

Finally, they do not know property taxes, which, as of yet, do not exist in china.

---

They will get charged more property tax on these properties than they are worth - what a dumb investment. Also, the city codes can come along and condemn them so they will have to get them up to code or tear them down. It costs about 10k to tear them down - lead paint and other environmental deficiencies. If they get them up to code there are few good tenants to rent to and thieves will vandalize and scrap the house.

If they tear them down they will still have to pay property taxes on the bare land and hire a service to maintain the property.

These folks are in for a rude awakening!

[MHGinTN]

If the Chinese will renovate and move in, I’d buy property there too and move in with them!

[cripplecreek]

What FReepers desperately choose to ignore is this.



Despite all its problems Detroit is still a major port city and the second busiest freight crossing on the continent. That simply isn't going to change unless Canada decides to blow trillions uprooting their industrialized region and moving it somewhere else. In fact, its so important to Canada that they're paying for a new bridge to ease the trade bottleneck.

The Chinese aren't stupid, they know exactly what they're doing. I wouldn't be surprised if Chinese developers weren't encouraging the buys as a means of trying properties up without having to pay for them and they'll get them later.

As far as the willfully ignorant. Its a waste of time trying to convince them to see facts. (Kinda like global warming alarmists)

[taildragger]

You know the joke could be on us.

So an anonymous Chinese Investor buys 30 houses @ a song. Detroit comes back as Trade Magnet, and his 30 homes ( hopefully together ) are now a Warehouse Site and sells it for un-kubocko-bucks.

Better yet said Chinese individual is now a natural gas tycoon if they find that the "Atrim" Shale formation is bigger than previously thought and is under Detwaa....

[moviefan8]

The Chinese will literally own Detroit. They will drive out the blacks and crime. I feel sorry the people in the suburbs because crime will rise and they will decline.

The Chinese are smart.

They are the future. Many people don’t want to face that fact.

[UnwashedPeasant]

"they’ll have land bought at rock bottom"

Depending on the property taxes, the land could have negative value.

[Rebelbase]

Ho lee fuk, sum ting wong with this investment strategy.

[taildragger]

What FReepers desperately choose to ignore is this.

Not I CC...

I have had the privilege of going to summer homes on the lakes owned ( by now deceased ) Big 3 suppliers many who made it in Detroit and left for the burbs. Hard working Poles, Italians etc etc that made stuff, they got their start their and I maybe nuts but it could happen again.

Ya never know the door handle king, or engine bracket mogul could happen again, but maybe with a different industry, that one is to mature at this point.

[floridavoter2]

“...Some Chinese investors fly to Detroit without notice and phone Chen from the airport. She recommends that they hire a taxi to drive them through downtown Detroit. She says most of them do not call her back. Once they see the areas where the properties are, they give up....”

Or they go find a serious, aggressive realtor who is actually willing to work to sell properties.

[gr8eman]

Imagine if the Chinese were dumb enough to fall for a scheme like that. Buy up property on the cheap, flatten it and build a factory...the first oriental looking guy going to work the first day would be shot...rinse and repeat the 3rd world order.

[gr8eman]

Are you implying they would prosper in Detroit city?

[Bobalu]

LOL!

Wee Buy Lo, pay taxes, pay taxes, pay taxes, pay taxes, pay taxes, Hey! Sum Ting Wong @#$%^ Who all these lazy bums, no workee, me hav to pay their rent and food and everything else #$%^&*

[moviefan8]

I wouldn’t worry about security. I am sure the Chinese will provide security for their workers.

They will have the votes and money to own the local government. Actually, they will be the government.

[gr8eman]

The Chinese will literally own Detroit.

Only if the PLA airdropped 30,000 troops in there. Do you seriously think the gubmint of Detroit would let anyone prosper? Why are they in debt to begin with? You need to study the situation better to grasp how communists, socialist and fascists truly operate and as hard as it may be, try to understand how they "think"!