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Monday, October 26th, 2009

Foreclosure Auctions Finding Few Bidders in Detroit

A recent auction of foreclosed and abandoned properties in and around Detroit, Michigan, saw only one-in-five properties sold—despite an opening bid of only $500.

Almost 9,000 homes and lots were on the auction block at the Wayne County tax auction, according to Reuters, with a total land area almost the size of Boston. At the end of the four-day auction, less than 1,800 properties were sold.

The auction was held by Wayne County to recoup unpaid property taxes, many for homes that had been abandoned or foreclosed.

With unemployment over 27 percent, Detroit is by far one of the hardest-hit cities in America. Detroit's population has dwindled from a peak of nearly 2 million in the 1950s to an estimated 800,000 today. Despite efforts by the city to revitalize the downtown, much of the city is turning into a ghost town, according to Reuters.

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Posted in Mortgage Foreclosure | 6 Comments »

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Detroit Foreclosures Become Farmland

The strategies for dealing with a foreclosure on an individual basis are often little understood; yet, an even less understood phenomenon is how neighborhoods deal with a rash of foreclosures.

Of course, abandoned homes that are untended start to reflect poorly on a neighborhood if enough of them accumulate.

A glut of foreclosed homes can even begin to lower property values in a neighborhood.

According to an NPR report, a group in Detroit called Urban Farming is taking a new approach to abandoned properties by tilling and planting the unused land, turning the spaces into urban gardens for food products.

The group has worked with Wayne County to recycle, in effect, 20 plots in a pilot program that could expand if all goes as expected.

Just another creative way that people are dealing with the lumbering economy....

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Posted in Mortgage Foreclosure | No Comments »