c/detroit-commercial-real-estate

Just hit $5,000 per month in rent on a single Detroit duplex I own

Bought the place near Eastern Market back in 2018 for $45,000 and put maybe $20k into renovations. It just seemed impossible back then that a duplex in that area would ever bring in that kind of money. Any other small landlords seeing numbers like that in the city now?

Quick heads up about the old Fisher Body plant

Was poking around the Fisher Body plant on Piquette last week and saw some serious roof damage on the south wing. Water's been getting in for a while, rotting out the floor joists on the second level. If anyone's looking at that space for a project, get a structural engineer in there before you sign anything.

That retired appraiser told me to buy on Gratiot and I almost laughed in his face

Guy named Gene at the Corktown coffee shop said Gratiot near Mt. Elliott was the next hotspot back in 2021. I thought he was nuts but I threw $30k into a little storefront there and now I'm getting offers triple what I paid. Anyone else get a tip they nearly ignored?

Dropped $80 on a thermal camera attachment for my phone and it already found a leaky pipe I would've missed

The old Detroit City Airport terminal vs. the new hangar space at Coleman Young

I walked past the old terminal building on Gratiot last week (well, drove by on my way home from a night shift) and it got me thinking. That building sat empty for what, 15 years? Meanwhile, the converted hangar spaces over by 8 Mile and the airport are actually getting leased up. One of the tenants told me they pay $8/sqft for hangar space with 30 foot ceilings. That old terminal needed millions in asbestos abatement alone. Has anyone else noticed the shift away from traditional office/commercial towards these industrial-flex spaces in the east side neighborhoods?

Switched from leasing downtown to buying in Corktown after running the numbers

I spent 3 years paying $4,200 a month for 1,200 square feet on Woodward, but when I finally added up what I'd spent versus what a small building in Corktown would cost to own, the math made no sense to keep renting. Has anyone else here made the jump from lease to ownership and regretted it?

Had a landlord chew me out over a parking lot quote last week

He said my bid was too high because I listed resurfacing instead of just sealcoating. Told me most contractors slap a fresh coat on cracked asphalt and call it good. Changed how I write proposals now. Has anyone else run into clients who want the cheap fix but expect the full job?

Remember when you had to drive around with a paper list of vacant lots?

I used to spend every Saturday morning driving through the east side with a printed spreadsheet of city-owned parcels. Now I just pull up the county database on my phone while I'm having coffee. Anyone else miss the old way or am I just getting old?

One broker told me downtown Detroit is dead and walked away mid-conversation

I was at a coffee shop on Woodward near Campus Martius last Tuesday, talking to this older guy who had been leasing space in the Fisher Building since the 80s. He straight up said "this whole revival is a bubble, these rents at $30 a square foot won't last another 18 months." Then he got up and left me standing there with my cold latte. Has anyone else run into these old school Detroit guys who are totally convinced the city is still heading for a crash?

Pro tip: Always verify demo timelines BEFORE signing off

I was working on a retail flip on Gratiot last month, the tenant was supposed to be out by June 1st but their demo crew didn't show until June 10th. That delay cost me $3,200 in extra carrying costs on the loan because I couldn't start my buildout on time. Has anyone else had a seller's timeline slip like that and found a way to hold them accountable?

My first downtown storefront lease just turned profitable after 18 months

I signed a lease on a small retail space in Corktown back in March 2023, and for the first year I was basically just covering rent and utilities. But after a neighboring coffee shop opened last fall, foot traffic tripled and now I'm actually in the black. Has anyone else seen a nearby business completely shift the math on a property you were thinking of dumping?

Figured out why the Cass Avenue building kept flooding after three years

I managed a small commercial property on Cass Avenue in Detroit for three years. Every spring the basement would flood and we would spend days pumping it out. The previous guy told me it was just the water table rising. I believed him until last month when I actually traced the water line. It took me seven straight hours with a flashlight and a shovel. The water was coming from a cracked city main under the sidewalk, not the ground at all. The city fixed it in two days once I got them out there. Now I feel stupid for not checking sooner. Has anyone else wasted years fixing a problem that turned out to be something completely different?

Closed on my first Detroit lease today, tiny 400 sq ft space on Gratiot

Been hunting for 6 months for a spot that didn't need a total gut job. Found this little storefront near Eastern Market last Tuesday. Walked in and the landlord had already fixed the roof and upgraded the electrical panel. Signed the papers this morning at 11 AM. Anyone else start small in Detroit and move up over time?

Vent: That landlord who laughed me out of his building

Last month I was checking out a small retail space on Gratiot near Eastern Market, nothing huge, like 1,200 square feet. The guy showing it, older fella, maybe 70, he just flat out told me "you young folks don't know how to run a business, you'll be gone in six months." Didn't even ask what I was planning to put in there. I stood there for a second, told him I been running a vintage shop in Hamtramck for 4 years now, and he just shrugged. I walked out and called another listing right there on the sidewalk. Has anyone else had an owner just assume you're a failure before you even sign a lease?

That broker who tried to sell me on Corktown like it was Silicon Valley

Met this guy Dave at a showing on Michigan Ave last month. He kept going on about how Corktown was the next big tech hub, pointing at a single coffee shop and an empty lot. I told him I been watching Detroit real estate for 8 years and that same lot was gonna be a boutique hotel back in '17. He had no clue what I was talking about. Anyone else run into brokers who just read the headlines and don't know the actual history?

That trick with offering shorter lease terms got me a better rate on a downtown space

I was stuck trying to lease a 2,000 sq ft office in the Fisher Building for months until I proposed a 2-year term with an option instead of the standard 5-year deal, and the landlord cut the rate by $1.50 per square foot to make it work, has anyone else tried breaking the lease length pattern?

Just realized the old Packard Plant site changed more in 2 years than the last 20

Went by the old Packard Plant last week and saw actual cranes and work crews after driving past it for two decades of nothing, turns out a single developer buying the whole lot in 2022 finally broke the stalemate anyone else seen a similar shift in other dead zones around town?

That time I walked a 20,000 sq ft warehouse in Corktown and saw why nobody signs leases anymore

I was out at that old building on Michigan Ave last week, the one with the brick facade that looks solid from the street. Inside, the roof was patched in three spots, the HVAC was from 1998, and the landlord still wanted $8.50 a foot. I brought my contractor buddy along and he gave me a quick estimate on just bringing the electrical up to code. 45 grand minimum. That's when it hit me. Everyone talks about cheap space in Detroit but nobody talks about what it actually costs to make it usable. I've been seeing this pattern for the last year. Cheap rent plus hidden repairs equals a bad deal. Has anyone else run into this gap between what a building looks like and what it costs to really move into?

The loft conversion I did in Brush Park was a total nightmare with the fire code

I was converting a 3,000 sq ft loft on Alfred Street and figured I had the sprinkler layout figured out, but the fire marshal showed up and flagged my riser placement because it was 2 feet too far from the exit stairwell. I had to cut into a concrete wall on a Saturday and reroute 40 feet of pipe, which killed my profit margin by about $4,200. Has anyone else dealt with Detroit's fire code inspectors being super picky about riser locations?

Everyone says buy cheap buildings in Detroit but I found a different angle

Ngl, I kept hearing people say grab those $5,000 houses on the east side and fix them up. But after three months of dealing with title issues on a property near Gratiot and I-94, I realized it was a money pit. Instead I targeted a small commercial strip on Michigan Avenue near Livernois for $120,000 that already had tenants paying rent. Has anyone else had better luck with occupied buildings versus vacant fixes?

Walked a client through a 12,000 sq ft space in Eastern Market and the ceiling was dripping onto the showing table

Water was pooling right on the conference table from a burst pipe above, I had to grab a trash can and redirect the whole tour to the break room while the broker called building maintenance, has anyone else dealt with surprise plumbing mid-showing?

My old mentor Bill warned me about buying on Gratiot back in 2011

He said that stretch near Mt. Elliott would never come back, but I grabbed a small storefront for $15k anyway. Ten years later I sold it for $120k to a brewery group. Anyone else get advice that turned out completely backwards?

I finally dropped $2,500 on insulation for my Eastern Market building

Bought it for that old brick building I'm flipping near Gratiot. Thought I could get away with just fixing the windows but the heating bill was $600 in January alone. Anyone else get burned by energy costs on these old Detroit properties?

Was dead set on buying a warehouse in Hamtramck until I walked through one with a 14 foot clearance vs the 12 foot ones I'd been looking at

Seeing how easily a semi trailer could load at the dock in that extra 2 feet convinced me to hold out for the taller space even though it costs $0.50 more per square foot, has anyone else found that one dimension change makes or breaks a deal?

Just read a news article about the old Hudson's site development

I was reading the Detroit Free Press online yesterday and saw they're planning over 700 residential units alongside office space at that block. Reminded me of how that corner was basically a dead zone for 30 years after the store closed. Anyone else remember walking through Hudson's as a kid and now seeing cranes go up there?