# A house for £400?



## fido (Aug 25, 2010)

Have US property prices really sunk this low?
 Ebay House


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan is not that far from Detroit. Yes, the housing market in Detroit has sunk that low - and even lower.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

fido said:


> Have US property prices really sunk this low?
> Ebay House


America has a history of ghost towns. When the reason for living there stops, you pack up and move on.


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## fido (Aug 25, 2010)

Detroit will make quite a big ghost town then!
Seriously I am now considering buying a cheap place to do a "buy to let" I can't work out what Visa I would need. My passport is the older type so I can't go the "visa waiver" rout. The actual processs of viewing houses and doing the legal side would be covered on a B1 visa but I would want to remain a while and do repair work and the B1 visa does not appear to allow that. I would not look forward to having to travel 600 miles to the US embassy followed by a 3 hour grilling either!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

There is no visa for property owners or potential property owners. You'd need another excuse, er, "reason" to support your visa application. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

fido said:


> Detroit will make quite a big ghost town then!
> Seriously I am now considering buying a cheap place to do a "buy to let" I can't work out what Visa I would need. My passport is the older type so I can't go the "visa waiver" rout. The actual processs of viewing houses and doing the legal side would be covered on a B1 visa but I would want to remain a while and do repair work and the B1 visa does not appear to allow that. I would not look forward to having to travel 600 miles to the US embassy followed by a 3 hour grilling either!


Don't see a viable plan here.

The B1 does not allow you to go into the house renovating business.

The grilling at the embassy will most likely end in visa denial, which will cause you endless frustration on every subsequent visit to the US.


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## fido (Aug 25, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like it's a non-starter then. Actually, I also emailed a friend in the States today and he too thinks it's a bad idea. I realised about the mass exodus by ex car workers but he also tells me Detroit is one of the worse places in USA for crime.


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## crys (Feb 20, 2009)

Yes but Detroit is also a place which is being regenerated and there is a high demand for cheap affordable rental properties. the only issue is most houses have just been left so are in a bad state of repair so lots of work and a wad of money is needed. I know two people who have purchased in Detroit and are making a decent enough income from renting the properties out through HUD. It works for them, but after donig some research, found it wouldnt work for me. so all i would say is do lots of research and if your not living in the states, find a good management company who wont bleed your rental income dry and a good contractor!


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## fido (Aug 25, 2010)

crys said:


> Yes but Detroit is also a place which is being regenerated and there is a high demand for cheap affordable rental properties. the only issue is most houses have just been left so are in a bad state of repair so lots of work and a wad of money is needed. I know two people who have purchased in Detroit and are making a decent enough income from renting the properties out through HUD. It works for them, but after donig some research, found it wouldnt work for me. so all i would say is do lots of research and if your not living in the states, find a good management company who wont bleed your rental income dry and a good contractor!


I think on balance I will try to find somewhere more welcoming to Brits. We are one of the closest allies of USA but their government seems to treat us like we were their worst enemy.


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## crys (Feb 20, 2009)

Fido, i can totally sympathise! My mother is American however has 12 month less residency than she needs to transmit citizenship to me so im currently a year into a 12 year wait for my application to even be looked at!


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

\ggg


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

crys said:


> Fido, i can totally sympathise! My mother is American however has 12 month less residency than she needs to transmit citizenship to me so im currently a year into a 12 year wait for my application to even be looked at!


that date may may have got down recently


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## crys (Feb 20, 2009)

thats a good point Davis, i should check the visa bulletin!


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## crys (Feb 20, 2009)

Davis1, please see my thread "being thick!" as you may be able to answer my question. I will leave this thread open that way to continue on topic.

Thanks
Crystal


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