$500 dream house demolished by mistake
An artist couple who bought a house at a tax auction in Detroit thought they could rehab it for $8,000 -- until they discovered it had been transformed into a pile of rubble.
Kristine Diven and Micho Detronik thought they had found their dream house in Detroit, or at least as close to a dream house as you can get for $500.
But when they went to the home last month to secure it and take some measurements, all they found was a pile of rubble. The city had demolished their home, as well as 11 others an investor had bought at a tax sale.
"Instead of taking measurements for the boards we needed, we found our house in a pile," Diven told The Detroit News. "When we drove up, I thought what I was seeing couldn't be right. "In the past weeks, it's almost like being in mourning."
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The 12 houses had been sold by the Wayne County treasurer in a tax foreclosure auction. But before the deeds were recorded, the homes were razed. Detroit is full of empty houses, and state and city officials have been working to demolish homes that aren’t wanted or are dangerous.
County and state officials have apologized, refunded the couple's $500, said they won’t be responsible for demolition and cleanup costs and offered them a chance at other abandoned houses that are available. But, so far, they have not found anything comparable to the house that was torn down.
The house was in the Morningside neighborhood of Detroit, adjacent to the affluent suburb of Grosse Pointe. The two artists had also bought the adjoining lot, with thoughts of creating a community garden. You can see a photo at The Huffington Post of what the house looked like before demolition.
"We were blown away that we could get a home like that," Diven, a photographer who owns a gallery, told the Model D online magazine. "It had a new roof. The basement had no cracks in the foundation. There was no water damage. All it needed was new electric and two new tubs. We estimated it would take $8,000 to get it up in working order."
| Tags: | foreclosures |
So, let me get this straight....., The city created a drug infested, crime ridden, welfare state and was surprised anyone would buy it? Then they tore it down?
I hated Detroit 30 years ago when I was there. Get rid of the left wing LibTards and you may be able to build a decent place to live. Until the City of Detroit makes the effort to rid themselvesof the Crackheads, Drug Dealers, and "Gubamnt" Free Loaders, you will be screwed forever....
Why weren't the "DEED's" put on hold? If they were "SOLD" why were they still on or got on to the demolition list? When you buy property like anything else there is a reciept...shouldn't there be a cross referencing system either by hand or a "FLAG" in there computer system with the property tax number or Lot&block noting the "SALES" reciept number?
Lots of communication going on in Detroit...this isn't the first time either.
Last year there was a guy who bought one of these properties and was fixing it up.
Think he had his 5 kids and wife waiting to move in but time and money and permits were holding him up, he went to go work on it and the city got the addresses mixed up and flattened the whole block.
Apparently some of there stuff was in it still packed, supplies for fixing the house and all his tools...gone!
Detriot said Whoops...sorry our bad....UGGGG
I don't know why anyone would want to live in Detroit anyway, I went there once and vowed to never ever go back...disgusting place all the way around!
None the less I feel bad for this couple, next time post a copy of the reciept on the door and send a copy to which ever portion of the city does the demolitions (certified) tell them it's bought to make sure it gets off the dreaded list! Go to the county clerks office and property appraisers office and file the paper work yourself to ensure it's done timely. I might even be tempted to put a big realtor sign out front with "SOLD" to catch the attention of any city worker and make them think first...assuming they read? Because Detroit ain't gonna apparently!! Heck one office to another doesn't even talk to one another?
About Teresa Mears
Teresa Mears is a veteran journalist who has been interested in houses since her father took her to tax auctions to carry the cash at age 10. A former editor of The Miami Herald's Home & Design section, she lives in South Florida where, in addition to writing about real estate, she publishes Miami on the Cheap to help her neighbors adjust to the loss of 60% of their property value.
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