Renovated as part of HUD's neighborhood stabilization program, this 1913 West Village home is available only to buyers who meet maximum income requirements. According to the application materials for this house created by the public agency selling it, the Villages Community Development Corporation, that figure ranges from $56K a year for single person to $81K for a family of four. The house is lovely and has undergone top-to-bottom renovation to make it energy efficient. Still, given the prices homes in the neighborhood fetch, the pricing strategy here raises questions.
This home has all manner of nice updates including a brand new kitchen with granite counters and a pretty tiled backsplash. There's a newly-built detached garage, a sprinkler system, new HVAC, a second story sitting porch, and a central stair with original rail. The fireplace is pretty, too, though the mantle looks more like an interesting salvage project than something original to the home. The house has hardwood floors and a large master suite with attached bath. There's a dual vanity in the master bath, and the house has central air (a must have this week, certainly).
Because the house is part of a HUD program, it can't be sold for more than the asking price, and has to go to a qualified buyer. The Villages CDC determines buyer eligibility before financing comes into play, but the FAQ included with the application does say that mortgage subsidies may be available to buyers who have trouble securing financing. While neighborhood stabilization seems like a nice idea, comparable homes in the area aren't going for even remotely close to $200K. A home in good condition in the West Village sold recently for $80K. Even with values increasing for the neighborhood, $200K seems like an enormous stretch. The house was renovated with federal government money and was sold to the Villages CDC in 2013 at tax auction for $10.7K.
The idea seems great. The execution of this home's renovation seems on-point, too. Nice original details remain as highlights, including the lovely mosaic tile in the entry and the gorgeous interior doors and fittings. We're wondering if this may be too good to be true. While we'd love it if single family homes in the West Village truly were worth $200K, given the comps, this seems extremely unlikely. Then there are the financing questions and the enormous markup on this place (no matter what the remodel cost, getting $200K for a house you paid $10K for two years ago is pretty much the flipper's greediest fantasy). When one of the most expensive listings in a neighborhood claims to be the government-sponsored solution for middle-income home buyers, you have to wonder how they arrived at the price at the very least.
·1762 Seyburn [Zillow]
·Villages CDC is Marketing its First Single Family House [The Villages of Detroit]
·1065Van Dyke [Zillow]
·West Village Home Prices [Realtor.com]
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