Despite all that you hear in the news
about Detroit, the bankruptcy, the crime and such, there is a lot of
positive momentum occurring in the city. Starting from the revival of
downtown Detroit, like a booming quake, this revival is rippling
throughout the city in a wave like pattern and residents are
beginning to see the long awaited turn around they've been holding on
to hope for.
If you are not from Detroit, it may be
difficult for you to understand the unique and different mentalities
that Detroiters have. There are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of
life long residents who have never forsaken the city, even in the
worst of times. These residents have lived through the riots, lived
through the rise and survived through the fall. These residents have
raised children here and their children's children are born and
raised here. They are tough. They are resilient. They are savvy. They
are survivors. They are Detroiters.
Once you live in a city for decades,
you get a real good feel for the city. You know where to go and where
not to go. You know the places that are safe and the places to avoid.
You know the good places to shop. You know where the good schools
are. You know the good parts of your city. You know the bad parts of
your city. You know where to go find a good deal. You know the places
that will rip you off. You know your way around and you've explored
most of the city. You probably have friends and even family that live
in different parts of the city that you visit regularly. It's the
same here for the people that live in Detroit. They know their city.
As an investor, from the outside
looking in, it may be difficult to understand how one block can look
beautiful and well preserved and the next block over looks war torn
with vacant and burnt up houses and not a soul in site. However, to
us Detroiters, this is a common phenomenon. This is called 'block for
block'. Another common phenomenon is seeing a street that on one end
is completely vacant with burnt up and abandoned houses and by the
time you get to the other end of the same block, it looks beautiful
and completely occupied. It may sound strange, but this is true.
Detroiters have a knack for knowing the right blocks and right
streets to live on. To an outsider, it may be hard to figure this out
but for us Detroiters, it is common knowledge.
You know, what's interesting about
Detroit is that even in some of the best kept neighborhoods, there
are still certain blocks that you don't want to be caught on when the
sun goes down. And then on the flip side, there are certain blocks in
rough areas that are beautiful and completely occupied and it makes
you wonder. Sometimes, you see big, beautiful brick homes that look
great on the internet. Wow! You say, 'this is a nice looking
neighborhood'. But depending on exactly where it is at, you might not
want to invest over there.
For example, let's take the Joy Rd and
Wyoming Rd area. This area has some nice homes. However, it is one of
the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city and people aren't really
trying to live over there unless they have no other option. Yes, the
houses are nice, but it's alot of criminal activity over there and
people want to move somewhere else, almost as quickly as when they
first move in. Now, if you didn't know this, you might wonder after
you buy a house in this area, why people seem to keep moving out
every few months and you can't keep a tenant. This is why. And there
are many areas like this. You almost have to be a Detroiter to know
these types of things.
This ends Part 1 of 'Understanding the
Detroit Mentality - Lessons in Reality'.
P.S. 'Detroiters' are city of Detroit residents. To learn more about Detroit real estate
and for free valuable resources, visit
www.anthonylegins.com now!
