"Rehabbed And Ready" Program Aims To Help Stabilize Four Detroit Neighborhoods

Mayor Mike Duggan joined representatives from Quicken Loans, Home Depot and members of the community to announce the “Rehabbed and Ready” program Wednesday.

The collaborative public-private campaign will renovate homes, increase occupancy and bring pricing stability to four of Detroit’s neighborhoods: Bagley, Crary/St. Mary’s, College Park, and Evergreen/Outer Drive.

The areas were selected because they featured well-maintained homes, but needed a helping hand to increase home price stability in the area.

The Detroit Land Bank will provide vacant homes in need of repair and Quicken Loans will provide a $5 million grant to finance the home renovations. Additionally, the grant will be used as a backstop to replenish the renovation fund in the event a home sells for less than the cost of construction, and remaining funds have been allocated to eliminate blight in the neighborhoods near the Rehabbed and Ready homes.

In addition to the grant, Quicken Loans will also offer financing to qualified buyers.

The Home Depot has brought its national home renovation program to Detroit for the first time in with goal of helping make this program a success. They act as the general contractor and recruit experienced local contractors to do all of the work on the homes.

If you are a contractor interested in in getting involved in the program, send an email to DLBA@homedepot.com.

The auction of the newly renovated homes will be hosted on the Detroit Land Bank website, BuildingDetroit.org.

“The Rehabbed and Ready program will make home ownership in Detroit accessible to more people by giving them the opportunity to purchase a Land Bank home that’s move-in ready,” said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.  “But more than renovating 65 homes, this initiative will provide opportunity to thousands of homeowners in the surrounding neighborhood, as it will allow more accurate appraised values which will generate home financing in the area.”

Homes will be sold to the highest bidder, with minimum bids set at a percentage of the homes’ rehabilitation investment.  Each home will be auctioned only to potential owner-occupants. Investors cannot make bids.

“The neighborhoods of Detroit are already starting to turn around. Blighted homes are being removed at a record pace. Other homes are being renovated and we have even seen new residential construction in neighborhoods get underway for the first time in decades,” said Dan Gilbert, Chairman and Founder of Quicken Loans.  “The Rehabbed and Ready program adds another critical component to neighborhood revival as it addresses the critical issue of rebuilding the market so appraisal values can be rationalized to allow financing to come back to the housing eco-system in Detroit.”

Open houses will be held the weekend before the homes are auctioned, the first of which will be held Saturday, August 29 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 18652 Monica Street and 18509 Prairie Street in Detroit.

The full schedule of upcoming Rehabbed and Ready homes will be posted at BuildingDetroit.com.