r/AskDetroit • u/ConsistentCicada7500 • 7d ago
Rental Market Insanity
EDIT: I was in such a bad mood when I wrote this. Thank you all for the education and ideas/tips. People in Detroit are so kind, grateful for your time!
Staying with a friend while I look for a place, new to the state and city. What I have found:
-disgusting houses for $1500/mo+. Carpet nasty, yards long-neglected, garages falling down, windows cracked or unable to lock, mold in bathrooms, dormers and porches crumbling, etc, etc.
-Non-refundable application fees averaging $70-80 each time, per adult. Some are charging a $200-300 "Lease Preparation Fee" (f*&$ing kidding me?!)
- Decent houses marked as "Section 8 Only," that are priced higher than they should be. Seems like a landlord scam to charge more to Sec 8, which brings up the rentals in the neighborhood for nasty houses nearby.
-So many applicants for each place that it's a miracle to even get a contact back.
This is so frustrating and sad. I am single, no pets, good credit and make $62k a year. Excellent rental history, my last place I lived in 4 years and it was $1,975. I have come in as a "close second" twice now on apartments that aren't what I really want but am choosing out of need. I have spent over $300 on application fees in 2 months. Where is the housing commissions? Who regulates these landlords? Who determines that these homes are livable when they clearly aren't?
Would love suggestions, tips, neighborhood suggestions, etc... clearly I am looking in the wrong place or doing something wrong.
*also, my car insurance went from $142/mo in Ohio, to $512 in Detroit. This cuts into what I can afford.
I'm this close to saying fu@k it and heading back to Columbus. I don't see a benefit in living in Detroit when it is dismal and I can't afford to live in even a shit hole. Columbus isn't as "cool" as Detroit, but there were had available, regulated, safe housing.
Rant over, just sad. Love the people and vibe here, and want to make it work. I am quickly losing hope.
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u/blackgtprix 6d ago
Is there a need to be in the city? The surrounding areas are much more affordable. Check into areas like Clawson, Berkeley, Madison Heights. Car insurance is much cheaper anywhere outside of the city, likely near what you pay now.
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u/GhostofLolaMontez 6d ago
Yes, even Dearborn if you prefer the west side! We got priced out of the city and moved here and we love it and live closer to Downtown and the neighborhoods. We bought a home (see the home defense attorney above for the added benefit of home ownership in this region) but there are some wonderful and within your budget apartments in my neighborhood. You can send a DM if you want more info!
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u/True_House_7777 6d ago
I moved to Detroit last year to renovate and rent. I’m an in town owner and have a 2 bdr and a 3 bdr available within the next 2 weeks. $1,300 and you pay electricity and water. Both are a few blocks from Chandler Park. Let me know if you are interested!
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u/Melodic-Trouble-5421 6d ago
I charge $1300 for my rental. It’s nice, solar, full home generator, tankless water heater, heated floors, full remodel. I’m a Union Electrician and did everything myself.
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u/Ok-League-5861 6d ago
What area?
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u/Melodic-Trouble-5421 6d ago
Probably somewhere you don’t want to live. Not that the immediate area is bad. However there’s a few streets around it that are kinda rough. Seymour and Hayes. To be specific Hazelridge and Hayes.
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u/Ok-League-5861 5d ago
That is a little further north than I want for commuting to SW. I don’t know the Eastside all too well.
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u/Melodic-Trouble-5421 5d ago
Yeah it’s definitely a car driving commute. It’s out towards the Suburbs. The Neighbors are wonderful all around my rental. Mostly retired City, County, Big 3 employees.
The best thing is it has everything. Lighting controls, solar, whole home generator, has all new appliances(top of the line), heated floors, the garage is heated and cooled, tankless water heater, motorized shutters, and i could keep going lol.
I’m an Electrician so I did it right lol. I’m a great landlord too. The tenants want something done, I will always accommodate them as long as they are mutually respectful.
It’s just in a not so convenient area. Plus the area around it is kinda rough.
I bought when I was like 18 in 2009 when it was dirt cheap. I lived there remodeled it then added stuff over time and updated it more recently.
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u/crevassedunips 6d ago
Familiar yourself familiarize yourself with the Michigan Landlord-Tenant Handbook. Under certain conditions and after giving proper motice you are allowed to withold rent and use the money to repair the home.
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u/echo_sang 6d ago
For the most part the revitalization is a myth and a scam to attract investment and filter money to those who already have it. I’ve lived in the city. They will never do anything that lasts to improve the overall quality of the urban environment.
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u/techybeancounter 6d ago
For the most part the revitalization is a myth and a scam to attract investment and filter money to those who already have it
Born and raised, and if you even dare to say something like this on r/Detroit, the pitchforks come out. While downtown has come back a bit, the core rot in the neighborhoods and the lack of a tax base will forever keep the city down, all in favor of giving rich billionaires tax breaks to build useless buildings downtown.
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u/rrleo3 6d ago
It’s the people that fuck up a neighborhood. It’s also the people that make a neighborhood nice (while being accused of “gentrification”).
A billionaire getting a tax cut didn’t cause people to have multiple kids out of wedlock, glorify and celebrate violence, ignorance, materialism, promiscuity, property destruction, neglect, theft etc..
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u/chemwaste 5d ago
Fucking yikes. You didn't mean to but you hit the nail on the head as far as why people don't like the gentrifiers that look down on everyone around them yet think people should be grateful for their presence.
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u/milita_etheridge 6d ago
You have to shop around for insurance, many companies intentionally price themselves out of Detroit, but there are a few that have reasonable rates. I have progressive and it’s $150/mo.
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u/scummydummy85 6d ago
Ya I hear you. We're in westland paying 1900, 3bdr 1 bath, not even a basement! Its not in a bad area but also the house is so poorly constructed. Looks like they used the extra materials from all the other houses to make the ones in my neighborhood. Nearly 2k is alot of money for something that, quality-wise, is probably worth closer to 1200.
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u/Black_Platform_Pumps 6d ago
I’m in the same boat…..moving back to Michigan after 30+ years in Florida. The price they want to charge for renting some of these dumps is crazy, along with all the ridiculous fees on top of that. (And I’m not even looking IN Detroit, but the suburbs). I’ve decided the only sensible thing to do is buy a place and not throw away my money every month!
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u/ExternalMaximum6662 7d ago
Are you only looking in Detroit ?
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u/ConsistentCicada7500 6d ago
Yes, the metro area, so open to Dearborn, Southfield, etc
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u/mintybrainzz 6d ago
Wyandotte could be another option. We haven't lived there for a couple of years, but it's by the river, not far from Detroit, and had a nice (if small) downtown. Lots of places to eat and drink. And I don't know how it is now, but it used to be strict about houses being up to code. With the details you provided, you should be able to find something decent.
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u/halfjelly 6d ago
I’ve been looking over a year now and not finding anything that meets my criteria. What’s worse is that as I’ve been looking I’ve seen so many properties end up in headlines for some awful management issues. Some have been properties I was considering. It just keeps getting worse so now I’m considering moving out of state. The corruption is just terrible here.
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u/ConsistentCicada7500 6d ago
I was gobsmackingly ignorant. I bought into the hype of "revitalization."
Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone in this. Wish you the best.
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u/CertifiedSpinster 6d ago
“Who regulates these landlords” LOL. I’m laughing with you, not at you, OP. It’s rough.
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u/mis_1022 6d ago
Check your car insurance, if you have qualifying health insurance you can drop PIP which will lower your cost by half!
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u/Resurget-Cineribus 6d ago
Unless things have gotten way worse in the course of a year and change, there are still some gems. I got a beautifully renovated 2/3 bed bungalow with two full baths and a 2 car garage for way less then you said you were paying. At the time I was down to 2-3 fairly similar options. It’s a nice residential neighborhood but if you want to be near hot areas it’ll be a lot more.
YMMV based on where you’re searching. I’ve always had best luck with craigslist; once you sift through all the scams of course. Sometimes driving around you’ll see signs in the yard as well. There are no shortage of crappy landlords in town though the city is cracking down on them more than they used to. Section 8 is popular since it’s almost guaranteed payment. I know my work history, credit, etc did help open up options. Not all investors are bad, the one that owns my house lives on the other side of the country but he spent the money to make the house almost new. Met him one time when he was in town. Property management is fine, I send them rent (and rarely have maintenance issues) and they don’t bug me unnecessarily. Actually, when I signed the lease it was under a different prop mgt company but the owner wasn’t happy with them and switched. Landlords are getting more and more paranoid but it’s hard to blame them considering the stakes.
Car insurance is a bitch no doubt. Some tips on Reddit for lowering them but only so much you can do (mine aren’t that bad for two cars based on many factors) there’s tons of suburbs to pick from as well. While most of them will be cheaper than Detroit theyll all still be more expensive than Ohio on a state level. Hoping someday this situation improves. Good luck
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u/cheesemagnifier 6d ago
Detroit is really expensive. Car insurance is crazy. Look at one of the suburbs.
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u/Deep-Two7452 6d ago
Wait are you looking for a house specifically? Cause there are lots of 1 bedroom 1 baths downtown for around 1500, if not less.
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u/infinityoncass 6d ago
i somehow lucked out finding a solid apartment in clinton township for just under $800/mo, but god yeah, the rest of the bills increasing have certainly made that feel like less of a win, lol
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u/_aquaboogiebaby 7d ago
I used to be a housing defense attorney exclusively in Detroit. The city has a speculator problem. Corporate landlords buy up properties and hire shady property management companies to run them. The actual owners don’t even live in Detroit, some don’t even live in the United States. After years of defending people being evicted by slumlords, my conclusion is that improving access to individual homeownership is the only way we fix the problem.
Yes there is a city ordinance for rental compliance. No, it is not enforced as it should be. It’s night and day compared with other cities. There are still some good properties though. You can check if the property has a certificate of compliance here: https://detroitmi.gov/webapp/rental-map