On Andover Street, near Greenfield Road and Rotunda, a row of well-maintained homes evokes images of success.
The homes–most of which have been occupied long-term–are situated in one of Dearborn's most successful neighborhoods. But like much of the city, image isn't everything.
The city of Dearborn has been one of Michigan's hot spots for foreclosures since 2007, and some residents believe a glut of unoccupied, bank-owned properties are devaluing their property, and are undermining Dearborn’s closely-knit neighborhoods.
Marium Wilkie, a resident of Andover Street and a local realtor, has lived in her home for 14 years, and said the biggest effect of the foreclosure crisis has been the value of her home.
"We put a lot of work into this home," she said. "There was a time when I though we'd get about $200,000 for the home (if it were put up for sale), but now I think it would be worth about $150,000."
A Shrinking Problem?
Foreclosures have been a problem that have caused numerous issues for Dearborn’s neighborhoods and its government. But the good news is that the city’s foreclosure rate appears to be tapering off.
According to Realty Trac, 214 homes–or one in 184 homes within the city–went into some stage of foreclosure in September. More than one half of those homes–113 to be exact–were located in the 48126 area code, near the Detroit border.
A year ago, that number was 397; and in September 2009, it was 364.
The downward trend is a good one for the city, but Dearborn is still one ranked as one of the most active foreclosure communities in Michigan, according to data provided by Realty Trac. It has a higher forclosure rate than Wayne County as a whole, as well as the city of Detroit.
Mayor Jack O’Reilly said he felt the downward trend was an encouraging sign, but that the pain was palpable for the municipality, which has seen a significant drop in property tax revenues that fund crucial city services.
"We're still concerned about this as a community," he said. "We know that we're one of the cities that has really been affected by this crisis."
It’s unclear how long the trend will last, or how forclosed homes will continue to affect the city’s real estate market. But what is certain is until these homes become occupied, the number of foreclosed homes in the city will serve as a troubling sign of a slow economic recovery.
Empty Homes Create Crime, Blight
The city’s vacancy rate for homes is 9.3 percent, which is about double what it was 10 years ago, according to data gleaned from the 2010 U.S. Census, said Nick Siroskey, the director of Residential Services for the city.
“It’s about twice what it should be,” he said. “The most obvious reason for this is the economy.”
Though there’s no way to immediately indicate how many of the 3,529 vacant homes were actually foreclosed, unoccupied structures create a number of problems, from blighted properties to increases in crime.
Owners of homes near foreclosed properties are concerned about their property values as well as safety, said Mary Petlichkoff, the president of the Dearborn Federation of Neighborhood Associations.
“Foreclosures are one of the top concerns coming from the neighborhood associations,” she said. “It’s a problem for communities because the homes are not well-maintained ... I’ve seen situations where people are angry, and have destroyed the inside of a home because of the foreclosure.
“These are homes that might not be purchased any time soon,” she added.
Another issue that concerns residents is that the homes may be purchased en masse by investors who will flood communities with rental properties, Petlichkoff said.
As for crime, residents are banding together and being diligent about reporting crime. Wilkie said that in her neighborhood, residents are looking out for each other.
"If someone sees something that it suspicous," she said, "they call the police."
Good News Greeted Cautiously
The recent news that Metro Detroit home sales rose 8.2 percent, and that sales prices increased by 10 percent according to Realcomp in Farmington Hills, was greeted positively by realtors. But it’s too soon to say if Dearborn’s real estate market is out of crisis mode because low-priced, foreclosed properties are available in abundance.
In Dearborn, there’s also good news: According to Realcomp, homes within the city are selling again. So far in 2011, 2,069 single-family homes or condominiums have sold, versus 2,190 for all of 2010. In 2007, 1,340 homes sold, versus 1,431 in 2008 and 1,992 in 2009.
O’Reilly worries that a second wave of foreclosures–which have reduced the city’s overall tax base–will take grip as banks that have been holding off on reverting homes move forward with more reposessions.
“We’ve been told to expect more,” he said. “I would want people to know there are programs that can help them.”
Regarding repairs, a home is always being kept up, that is the owner's responsibility. If it needs a permit, then the city should follow up, that is what your permit fees are being used for, to make sure the repairs are done in a correct and timely manner.
1. I will gladly take responsibility for my own "safety" 2. In a time when we have brave young people in the streets across America, protesting against the total B.S. going on in this country today, and I see them getting beaten up by these same "police", do NOT ask me to pay MORE money to support these people's jobs. I say, lay-off and CUT back! If you are afraid for your personal "safety", by all means take "steps" to protect yourself. Needles to say, these ballot proposals are D.O.A. as far as I am concerned when I go to vote.
There is plenty of 'fat' in the city budgets that can be weeded out, I have mentioned 'justification' expenses before as just one example, in the six figures and for what? To pad the city workers who decide to stick with other insurance than the city's. No one seems to think this is worth messing with. The private sector eliminated these costs long ago. Why can't Dearborn? Those 'brave' lads in the streets, protesting and asking dumb questions like "why can't all loans be forgiven" etc, need to find a job, or take a class on economics. What total BS? That statement is about as bland as it gets......The govt should clarify its health care plans, and then business can plan more than 6 months into the future. Until then, I , and many others, are not hiring until we know what our future govt costs are. Simple as that....
As for the CCW. Thats an individual choice, and I'm sure a lot of folks are packing iron without one too. I agree with you about the city budget "fat".
Take a drive through Dearborn Hills....do it every day....your point? I happen to reside in Dearborn Hills, and have done my share to keep it safe and a nice place to live. I probably spent more $$ than I should have to repair my home, but it is not only the value that counts, it is the neighborhood, the ambience of neighbors who connect with you and share the schools , police, and other services. I enjoy riding around on my bike, not always looking over my back shoulder. When I am at my Detroit warehouse, survival dictates that caution is the norm. The point is, if we feel the city folk are not doing a good job, vote them out. For the most part, they are getting by, but missing some obvious fixes that would save the city, and us , some serious money. Transparency in the Dearborn govt would make that easy to spot, and easy for us on the forum to point out and ask for changes. Drive around any of the neighborhoods in Dearborn sometime, all of them are well kept compared to most neighborhoods in Detroit, harsh statements, but true. That is one reason folk are leaving Detroit, others being obvious, such as high taxes, no services, and miniscule police protection. I agree with others, vote no on increased taxes and instead reduce spending via elimination of obvious higher cost services and obscure payment practices that continue on for no known reason. Get the private sector involved and let's see some competition. Are the unions afraid of that?
Wishful thinking? Hardly!. Think out the process of purchasing a home. You see one you like. It has a 'asking price'. You counter offer with a lower price. They come back with another offer. Bottom line.? You reach an understanding somewhere in the middle. With more homes on the market, supply is flush, demand is lower. In order to sell, you either wait for someone that just loves your home, or you lower your price. When the supply of homes is flush, or many, the potential buyer can say "no thank you" to you and easily look at other similiar homes. Others may be more compliant to a lower price offer. End result? Supply and demand dictate the price. A higher supply of homes on the market means 'buying' folks can offer less, as they can pick and choose. This is not rocket science. Scarce items are worth more, surplus items are worth less, most items including homes are affected by supply and demand. Even the guys on Pawn Stars know that! Also American Pickers,, and don't forget Storage wars....and , of course, Detroit's own Les Gold and Hardcore Pawn at 8 mile and greenfield.
Slash some salaries. O'Reilly makes 131k. City council combined makes 100k, roughly. City Clerk , 72.5k. 63k just in stipends for CITY B.o.E members. For meeting, I believe, three Mondays out of the month in total. $366,500 - give or take. I'd have to, at my previous minimum wage job (try findng one of those in Dearborn, no less!) I would have to work 29.5 years to earn that much. Now, don't get me wrong, I'll give a free pass if I'm being a jerk about anyone. I'm not talking about the people on the ground floor getting things done faithfully for years and years and making middle-class wages. I'm not even that informed about wages as a whole. But I guarantee you - absolutely guarantee you - that if an independent audit of the city's assets, expenses, and administrative wages vs. market rates were performed, not only would there be massive uprising, but also a mass exodus.
Why mop the halls with a $40,000 mop when it can be done with a $28,000 mop?? Wisconsin folk figured this out, and so did Walker. This site has some comments... http://omegahrsolutions.com/2011/03/private-vs-public-vs-federal-unions-weighing-in-on-wisconsin.html What does this have to do with home forclosures? By lowering our city costs, the city does not need more tax revenue out of our pockets, leaving more money to pay our mortgages. Competition should be encouraged, not shunned.
We can all play the 'IF' game. If privatation is transparent, and vendors are held accountable for results, as they should be, and as should our 'union' brothers, then we will get the best value for the money. What decides the best cost? Again, competition, something the city seems hard pressed to do. Right now there is no 'bid' process with the public unions, leaving us taxpayers squirming on the wrong end of the stick. In fact, our city leaders have protected them from competition written right into the contracts. Why is that? What has the govt ever done efficiently, as compared to the private sector? I am talking comparing apples to apples, not apples to oranges. What incentive does the govt agency have to reduce costs, when , if they don't use up all of their budget, it will be reduced next year? Hardly the way to control costs, and a sure fire way to ensure they will always go up. If a private company messes up, they can be sued, fired, or held liable. When a govt agency messes up, they all seem to get off the hook far too often. Name an example of where private contractors exceeded the cost of govt contractors, again, appples to apples. Speaking of apples, interesting that Washington State is losing a large part ot the apple crop, why?, Owners can't get anyone to do the picking.amigo. We need less cost, and less taxes in Dearborn, you seem to favor the unions, and more cost. Why is that?
Frank Lee - Seeing a weird trend here - how's about we all, as voters, get to be the board of directors, using both your supposed logic, and our elected folk and the services we are not allowed to choose not to pay for, they get to have an in-depth, accurate, 400 page report of profits, losses, assets on hand, expenses, wage-type-expenses, health benefits, use of such vs. payouts, etc? The old days of "IT COSTS TOO MUCH TO PRINT, AHHHH!!!!" is ludicrous. All of it's computerized. Would be hard to tie together all the various accounts, but banks, individuals, corporations, small businesses, and Ali down the street trying to figure out if he should buy another delivery van can make and produce metrics. Sec of State has this beat. Many other agencies do. I'll wager it's because transparency - even if technology makes it absurdly easy - will ruin the quality of lives of hangers-on to this "free" economy, embolden the services we need to ask for what they need, and maybe bring prices, needs, and things like buying giant flat screen TV's for "presentations" into parity. 10 years ago for that! Really? Gimme an audit. We'll see afterward.
Competition, not guarantees. Yet the city of Dearborn guaranteed , via a contract, that a guy mopping the floors in the schools will get at least $40 grand, and , in the same contract, assured the union that the private guy with the $28,000 mop would be kept out. How is that saving Dearborn money. How is that saving us taxpayers, who have to pay the extra $$, any money? That is one reason our taxes are going up, and the city is asking for more $$. Regarding your 400 page report, who is going to write it? More important, who is going to pay for it? 'They' , whoever that is, cant get it for nothing. What does Ali making 'metrics' have to do with anything? Transparency ruining the lives of the 'hangers on' in govt? Time to let them 'hang' somewhere else. Giant flat screen TVs into parity? For who? And parity with what? Toto, whereever you are in OZ, I hope you make it back ok........and your mind clears.....
Then put it on whatever crappy server the Webmaster did - he needs to proofread a lot. Then use NGINX...ehh, really? It's simple. Elect people you want. Then throw bricks through their windows, car windows, or maybe garage windows if they have a nice car in there. Bonus points for getting both. Attach notes to these missives. You have a 3% of succeeding. Only couple differences between gov't and outsourced agencies? One will screw you on the bid, and then screw you on the product. Other will try to screw you on the budget. Other will get legislation, policy, and/or corruption solved quick, and throw the need at a very happy private charity (Not necessarily religious. Gates foundation, or..ahem...ACCESS?) Intelligently, with transparency, and with whoever they gotta hire for a study, and all of this fun stuff available, like any other should be, to every economics, socio, and government teaching professor on the planet! They love this stuff, and if they didn't like it, fair chance someone will hear. I never acted public in any role I wasn't. Why is it different for gov't. We get our entire lives records out for them, expect pittance in return. Consider that.
I consider the rest of your comments to be from the Land of OZ, but those are strictly my opinions. As a car guy, go easy on the bricks!