  Brandon48202 Member Username: Brandon48202 Post Number: 187 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hello everyone. There was a huge fire at 646 E Grand Blvd this past Saturday, it was a large 6 bedroom bank owned mansion. Did anyone see this?   | ||
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall Post Number: 447 Registered: 05-2004 |
Typical of how the landscape has changed negatively in too many neighborhoods of Detroit. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1836 Registered: 05-2005 |
damn. another large brick house (corner of grand and st. paul?) burned down just a few months prior | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 936 Registered: 11-2005 |
Sad. If it was bank-owned, there's no home for it to be saved. I hope the demo comes quickly B-E is too crucial of a neighborhood to let this happen. Where'd you get the "before" photo? | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 6640 Registered: 02-2004 |
Set on fire by po'folks! and the bank can't protect that home. What a total loss. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 1977 Registered: 01-2004 |
or........ Set on fire by the bank ! and po'folks can't protect that home. | ||
Detroit313 Member Username: Detroit313 Post Number: 500 Registered: 02-2006 |
Was it insured? <313> | ||
Lobsterpots Member Username: Lobsterpots Post Number: 86 Registered: 06-2007 |
Municipality Parcel ID Property Type 01 - DETROIT 15007591. REAL Property Address 646 E GRAND BLVD, 48211 Taxpayer(s) CHASE BANK USA, NA | ||
Brandon48202 Member Username: Brandon48202 Post Number: 188 Registered: 12-2004 |
Yes, it was insured. The bank is filing a claim. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1933 Registered: 11-2003 |
That home is not actually in B-E (Boston-Edison), it's on the lower east side. It might be in or near the Islandview area, the street numbering on Grand Blvd is different from other streets so I'm not sure exactly where. | ||
Eric_c Member Username: Eric_c Post Number: 1044 Registered: 11-2003 |
Yes, it's Islandview. Shitty, indeed. Glad to hear the bank is filing a claim, though. We'll see what that does. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1838 Registered: 05-2005 |
i'm guess scrappers burning off insulation | ||
Brandon48202 Member Username: Brandon48202 Post Number: 189 Registered: 12-2004 |
Does anyone want this house? The bank will take $5000. | ||
Brandon48202 Member Username: Brandon48202 Post Number: 190 Registered: 12-2004 |
By the ways, the lot dimensions are 75' X 185' and not that it matters much now, but the last person to buy the house paid $190,000 on 4/28/2006. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1947 Registered: 11-2003 |
Let's take a look at the deeds for this property, which are a matter of public record: 646 E GRAND BLVD ---------------- Instrument #: 206357809 Multi Seq: 0 Status: Permanent Index Parcel Type: Platted Dated Date: 04/28/2006 Reception Date: 07/07/2006 Entry Date: 07/21/2006 Document Type: WARRANTY DEED (Sale Deed) Liber: 44982 Page: 1318 # Pages: 1 Consideration: $190,000.00 Grantor Name(s) 1 PRINCE LUCIA Single Grantee Name(s) 1 REED DAVID Single Instrument #: 206270348 Multi Seq: 0 Status: Permanent Index Parcel Type: Platted Dated Date: 04/28/2006 Reception Date: 05/11/2006 Entry Date: 05/18/2006 Document Type: MORTGAGE Liber: 44687 Page: 656 # Pages: 19 Consideration: $142,500.00 Remarks: Image: Related Document(s) Type Instrument Number MS Book Type Book Page Document Type I 206531222 0 45556 275 SHD Grantor Name(s) 1 REED DAVID Single Grantee Name(s) 1 CHASE BANK USA Returnee Name: GRECO Instrument #: 206270353 Multi Seq: 0 Status: Permanent Index Parcel Type: Platted Dated Date: 04/28/2006 Reception Date: 05/11/2006 Entry Date: 05/18/2006 Document Type: MORTGAGE Liber: 44687 Page: 675 # Pages: 4 Consideration: $38,000.00 Grantor Name(s) 1 REED DAVID Single Grantee Name(s) 1 PRINCE LUCIA Returnee Name: GRECO Instrument #: 206531222 Multi Seq: 0 Status: Permanent Index Parcel Type: Platted Dated Date: 10/25/2006 Reception Date: 11/08/2006 Entry Date: 11/15/2006 Document Type: SHERIFFS DEED (Foreclosure Deed) Liber: 45556 Page: 275 # Pages: 5 Consideration: $150,012.26 Related Document(s) Type Instrument Number MS Book Type Book Page Document Type I 206270348 0 44687 656 MTG Grantor Name(s) 1 REED DAVID Single Grantee Name(s) 1 CHASE BANK Pretty much as I guessed, the house was sold on 4/28/2006 for $190,000 with a near 100% mortgage (if you add the two mortgages together), then the loan defaults immediately (an EPD/Early Payment Default) and completes the foreclosure process only 6 months later on 10/25/2006, reverting ownership back to the bank. I wouldn't accuse any individual of mortgage fraud without knowing more, but this article accurately describes an Early Payment Default as a "neon sign of mortgage fraud". And now, the bank's asset is nearly worthless, because the bank probably couldn't be bothered to turn on power to the house and rent it out or otherwise secure it to prevent squatters/scrappers from burning it down. Was anyone actually surprised at the mortgage meltdown (and likely recession) that is happening as a result of all this stuff? It's still not too late to short Countrywide. | ||
Brandon48202 Member Username: Brandon48202 Post Number: 191 Registered: 12-2004 |
Yes, I have to agree, this is almost certainly a case of mortgage fraud. Perhaps DAVID REED was a straw buyer. The appraisal used buy the buyer was probably inflated. It's really to bad about this one because it really was a nice looking house. | ||
Lefty2 Member Username: Lefty2 Post Number: 323 Registered: 07-2007 |
burned down how? crackheads, homeless, arson? | ||
Lobsterpots Member Username: Lobsterpots Post Number: 2 Registered: 06-2007 |
Brandon: 5k? | ||
Brandon48202 Member Username: Brandon48202 Post Number: 192 Registered: 12-2004 |
They might take less. Everything is negotiable! | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 215 Registered: 06-2007 |
That's an amazing lot size for a big city. Has to be a half-acre. The lot alone is worth something. | ||
Lobsterpots Member Username: Lobsterpots Post Number: 3 Registered: 06-2007 |
Brandon what do you do just submit an offer? | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 919 Registered: 11-2003 |
Anybody have any experience with how insurance companies handle claims with bank-owned properties? In the usual circumstance involving a homeowner, insurance companies will only pay to repair/rebuild. This protects them from fraudsters that seek to use insurance to convert a real estate asset to cash by burning it down. Do they also require banks to rebuild? Just wondering. | ||
Johnberk Member Username: Johnberk Post Number: 68 Registered: 11-2003 |
DougW: Thank you for the informative post and links. This is a very interesting thread. | ||
Brandon48202 Member Username: Brandon48202 Post Number: 193 Registered: 12-2004 |
Fax all offers to 313-963-9892 or call Brandon at 248-470-7114 | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 4281 Registered: 10-2003 |
I'm mentally fixing the roof right now... | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1948 Registered: 11-2003 |
Johnberk -- No problem, I've learned a fair amount about this lately. Brandon -- Yeah, probably a straw buyer. It's usually hard to tell from the deeds who the mastermind is behind a scheme, but it's almost never the buyer, and usually not the seller, more likely a mortgage broker or real estate agent. (Don't know enough here to speculate, of course.) Swingline -- Good questions, I wonder about that too. I'm thinking that it's the same with banks, that they would require a rebuild, which would probably prevent insurance fraud. (An insurance company would have to be insane to provide a cash-out insurance policy on a foreclosed bank-owned home in Detroit.) My hunch here is while this is almost certainly mortgage fraud, it's probably not insurance fraud, but who knows. Barnesfoto/Lobsterpots -- I suppose on the bright side, it looks like the 1st floor and maybe part of the 2nd is still in OK shape, so the house may not be a total loss. Still, in this market there are similar homes in much better shape in relatively established neighborhoods for only $50K or so (like 3508 Burns), so it may be hard to justify. More power to whoever wants to take it on, though! And I guess the lot size is substantial. | ||
Lobsterpots Member Username: Lobsterpots Post Number: 4 Registered: 06-2007 |
I still think the market is going to tank more. I'm waiting by the sidelines. The prices are getting better now than they were last year, I think this housing meltdown has a ways to go yet. Just my opinion though. I could be wrong. What do you folks think? | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1950 Registered: 11-2003 |
Yeah, you probably can't go wrong by waiting another 6 months or something like that. I'm not sure I'd necessarily wait a really long time, like 3 years... since the market tanked earlier in Detroit than in other parts of the country, it's possible that it may recover earlier IMO. | ||
Lobsterpots Member Username: Lobsterpots Post Number: 13 Registered: 06-2007 |
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap /2007/10/16/business/NA-FIN-US -Mortgage-Bankers.php | ||
M678 Member Username: M678 Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2007 |
I was looking through the homes that are for sale Wow what a shame. Even though most are in need of TLC still you get a lot of house for the money. I am a former Michigan resident now living in Orlando Florida for the past 24 years. I have a home that I have owned here for the past 18 years. 1450 square feet 3bed,2full bath with 2 car garage on a double lot in an "A" rated school district. Even in todays market is valued at $325,000 I originally paid $ 72,500. My taxes have gone out of sight this year $5100.00 If the market should come back in Detroit it would be the place to invest. | ||
Aduthie Member Username: Aduthie Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2007 |
I think our Detroit taxes on 3508 Burns ran at least $3000 a year. That was for a house we'd just paid $65,000 for -- although the city claimed it was worth $180,000, which was laughable, given the condition it was in. I was joking recently that now that it's been abandoned, we could probably buy it back for half what we'd paid in 1996. Apparently it's only fallen to a bit below what we paid. I haven't been back inside, but my former neighbors tell me it's been stripped; no doubt the pieces are at an architectural salvage store for unreasonable prices. (But hopefully the rumor is wrong and everything inside is still intact.) In the meantime, we moved to Nashville in 2000. House was double what we'd paid in Detroit for half the space, and the value has gone up about 60% in the meantime. I hope Detroit will catch up at some point, but what I see when I visit is a downtown that's getting quite a lot of attention, and surrounding neighborhoods that are declining once again. | ||
Dougw Member Username: Dougw Post Number: 1957 Registered: 11-2003 |
Hello Andrew, welcome to the forum.  (we emailed a couple times awhile ago) If you look up the recent deeds for 3508 Burns, they're pretty similar to the ones I posted above for 646 E Grand Blvd, except for 3508 the mortgage amount was $265,500. Hmmmm, I wonder what the LTV (Loan-To-Value) ratio was on that loan, maybe 400%? Actually, I think 3508 Burns is a good deal at the current listed price. I've been in the house, and there may have been some stripping (radiators and some things taken), but it still has some nice details and woodwork, and no water damage or roof leaks, which are the real killer. You can buy replacement radiators for not *that* much money. Contrast with the house next door (same fraud story there too), which has major water damage, will need walls & flooring replaced, etc. | ||
Aduthie Member Username: Aduthie Post Number: 2 Registered: 10-2007 |
Oh, I'd been given the impression that even the old doors were gone. If the newel post in the foyer is still intact, that would be major. I noticed some of the leaded glass windows are boarded over now -- makes me wonder if they were ripped off. One big one on the stair landing, and then three little ones in the bathroom. The roof wasn't so peachy when we bought it -- if you sneak out back, you'll see exterior damage to the sleeping porch as a result of a big leak that was there when we bought it. That was the biggest thing we had a chance to fix while living there, actually. |
