I keep seeing people call a 2,000 sq ft old brick building 'move in ready' when the roof is caving in

Drove by a listing near Eastern Market last weekend. Sign out front said 'prime retail space, move in ready'. Had to stop because I know that building. We looked at it for a possible location for my brother's shop about 8 months ago. Inside has water damage all over the ceiling, there's a gap in the back wall big enough for a raccoon to walk through, and the floor is sinking near the alley. Real estate agent told me the owner was asking $350,000. I get that Detroit has a ton of potential and some people are flipping places nice, but calling something 'move in ready' when you'd need to spend at least $60k on the roof alone is wild. It just makes everyone distrust listings more. Has anyone else run into a listing that was straight up lying about the condition?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah_hart23d ago

Oh man, this exactly. We looked at a place in Hamtramck that was advertised as "freshly updated, turnkey." Got there and the "updated" was just a coat of cheap paint over peeling wallpaper and some new outlet covers. One corner of the basement had standing water and the furnace looked like it was from the 70s. They had a realtor photo angled so you couldn't see the water stains on the ceiling. I get that Detroit real estate is a gamble, but calling something move in ready when you need to rip out half the electrical is just asking for people to show up and walk right back out.

cole35623d agoMost Upvoted

Is it really that hard to just fix the plumbing before slapping up some paint? Sounds like they dumped fifty bucks into it and called it a day. I swear half these flips are just lipstick on a pig and a prayer nobody looks too close.