There are many, many, maaaany crazy things investors do in the Detroit real estate investment market, however, a few of these things take the top prize for Crazy.

In this series, we will explore some of the…ahem…interesting choices investors have made in their efforts to build investment portfolios in Metro Detroit and some of the thinking that went into those choices.

NOTE: No investors were harmed in the chronicling of this series, although they were vigorously mocked.

HUGE MISTAKE: BUYING PROPERTY WITHOUT PHYSICALLY SEEING IT
A.K.A. “It Looked Good on Google Maps!”

Believe it or not, investors from all over the world purchase properties in Detroit without ever having seen them in person.

They’ll even purchase without ANYONE on their team having seen the property in person.

I can hear you thinking, “Well, this is the Internet Age! This shouldn’t be a problem, everything is online!”

Wrong, mi amigo.

Most investors in the Detroit real estate market have no idea of the amount of devastation the city went through in the past decade or so.

While the foreclosure crisis hit the entire country, we also suffered an economic downturn and rapidly falling home values at the same time.

Our largest industries were going into bankruptcy at the same time our homes were going into foreclosure.

Add to that the overly aggressive tax foreclosure process that contributed to tens of thousands of foreclosures; this created the perfect property storm.

In the wake of this storm, thousands of homes were left vacant and quickly became dilapidated.

Investors from other parts of the U.S. or other parts of the world have no real concept of what vacancy looks like here in Metro Detroit. It’s not the same as vacancy in Seattle, Texas or Brisbane.

It is critically important to always view the home AND the surrounding block in real-time before purchasing!

This is not a step to skip- not even once.

Many crooks have sold fire-damaged properties,  properties that were the only house on the block or even properties that didn’t exist because investors did not get photos and/or video beforehand.

Never, ever, never, ever, never buy without knowing inside and out what you’re purchasing.

No deal is worth losing money by skipping this critical step.

Good Luck and Happy Investing!!