WATCH: Overseas Owner Wants To Trade An iPhone Or iPad For His House In Detroit

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File this under “absurd,” possibly “only in Detroit,” and probably under “overseas owner not taking care of their property.” A person who is overseas (according to their realtor) owns a house in Detroit, and he’s willing to swap it for the latest in Apple gear.

iPhone-house-Detroit“It’s not even worth a Metro, let alone an iPhone 6,” said a person interviewed in the video.

The house, on Laing street, is located in one of the struggling areas of Detroit and blocks away from the tragic Steven Utash incident that happened earlier this year.

“It’s a real listing,” Larry Else, a realtor, tells FOX 2 WJBK here in Detroit. “It sounds like he wants the premium version [iPhone 6 Plus], but I’m sure that he’s willing to negotiate.”

You’d have to also pay the back taxes as well as trade in your iPhone. Wayne County would be foreclosing on the property in the next year if a buyer isn’t found, part of what’s become at times an insidious cycle of purchase with the property only to return to the auction later.

Here’s the listing:

*INVESTOR SPECIAL* 3 Bedroom, 1.1 Bath Brick colonial with finished basement and 2 car detached garage. QCD ONLY! Furnace and HWT will be provided if closed before September 29th. Seller will swap the house for a new iPhone 6 or a new iPad – 32gb Brokered And Advertised By: Real Estate Professional Serv Listing Agent: Larry J. Else

The house on Laing before it fell into visible disrepair.
The house on Laing before it fell into visible disrepair.

Although the situation is admittedly humorous, this also highlights the bigger problem of speculative owners picking up what they think will be great deals, it falling apart, and the real losers ending up being Detroiters.

If you look on Google Maps, it wasn’t so long ago that the place had windows and didn’t look half-bad from the street.

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