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Detroit has had a major impact on the musical world as we know it today, some of the greatest musical legends and producers come from Detroit.  The cultural diversity, challenging times and the determination of the people have helped produce a huge spectrum of different types of music. Not many people know this but Techno emerged in Detroit, Michigan in mid-to-late 1980s. One of the largest Electronic Festivals in the world is held in Detroit each Memorial Day weekend, the Movement Electronic Music Festival. The 2014 line up seen 121 acts spread over three days inside the famous Hart Plaza in Downtown Detroit. Some of the leading world DJs , played alongside each other to a crowd of over 50,000 people into the early hours of the morning. Techno was born in Detroit, but it was not linked to the auto industry, it came about due to the diverse network of artists who moved to Detroit due the ever changing city and upbeat attitude. Some of the founding fathers of techno, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May met up in Belleville. Belleville was located near some of the automobile factories “Motor City” so to hear the influence of industrial sounds in techno music is no surprise. But it is not just Techno music that Detroit is famous for,  several well-known pop artists such as Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Sonny Bono, Suzi Quatro, Alice Cooper, Eminem, Glenn Fry are all from Michigan, Madonna attended the University of Michigan on a dance scholarship. Detroit is also world famous for its theaters, the city’s theatre district is the nation’s second largest after New York City, with eighteen professional theaters. You have the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Opera House, Fox Theatre, the Fisher Theatre, The Music Hall Centre to name just a few. These theatres have produced some of the leading musicals and symphonies seen over the last few years. Then we have Hip Hop, we have all seen the film 8 Mile which was filmed and made in Detroit .Detroit’s hip hop scene has made up very successful business empires.The Motor City is a special place in the history of hip hop, no city has had a similar type of influence both behind the scenes and in front of the cameras as Detroit. As we can see Detroit has contributed to some of the world best know artists but the highlight has to be the success of Motown Records. The label was founded in the late 1950s by auto plant worker Berry Gordy, his first success as a songwriter came in 1957 when Jackie Wilson recorded “Reet Petite”. No other record company in history has exerted such an enormous influence on both the style and substance of popular music and culture. With more than 180 No. 1 hit songs worldwide and counting, that influence is still being felt today. Berry Gordy had a house in the famous historic District called Boston Edison, close to the University District. The District boasts the oldest continuous neighborhood association in the City. This area has always been favoured by many people in the music business .Detroit had it first symphony orchestra in 1914, and in 1918 the directors decided to make a permanent appointment for conductor, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, who resided in a handsome house on Boston Blvd. Detroit also has its own Music Awards Foundation, DMAF awards are similar to the Grammy Awards presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Award winners are determined by local musicians and music industry professionals in southeast Michigan, and presented in ten music genres; Folk/Acoustic, Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Country, Classical, Rock/Pop, R&B/Hip-Hop, Electronic and World. Detroit is a huge tour stop for national acts, and a number of major performance venues exist to accommodate these productions, there’s one to suit just about everyone’s taste.  Enjoy the riverfront atmosphere of Chene Park or the woodsy setting of the DTE Energy Music Theatre.  Others may prefer the traditional auditorium or stadium feel of the Palace of Auburn Hills, Comerica Park, or Ford Field. They are all outstanding live music sites that you are sure to enjoy! So when will we see you in Detroit ?

During the week of June 23rd, 2014, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a series of bills that vouches $195 million to Detroit. This large amount of money will be a great contribution to getting the city out of bankruptcy. The bill was signed at the 122-year-old Detroit’s Globe Trading Co. building that was once an auto manufacturing facility. There are plans to revitalize the Globe Trading Co. building, which has been vacant for 20 years. After a $12.8 million investment from the State of Michigan, the building was converted into a the riverside park’s recreation center (William G. Milliken State Park) The $195 million that will be given to Detroit comes with its own set of rules to ensure its effectiveness and expenditure. According to USA Today, one of the nation’s leading newspapers, “a nine-member commission will oversee the city’s finances, budgets and contracts for at least 13 years and set the level of contributions made to city employees’ retirement and health care plans.” Detroit’s bankruptcy has come a long way. In the last several months, many different businesses, organizations, and charities have contributed to Detroit’s comeback in all different aspects. The nations largest bank (J.P. Morgan Chase) recently invested $100 million. The three Detroit-based automakers have collectively invested a large sum of money into the city’s revitalization, creating jobs, upgrading facilities, and increasing Detroit’s revenues. Detroit is by far the best investment in the USA and is fighting back!

A lot of buyers can get very confused when looking at the Detroit property market. There are many companies selling properties in Detroit but there seems to be huge differences in price. Prices seem to vary widely, from as little as $12,000 up to $50,000 for a three bedroom brick house. Sometimes these properties can even be on the same street, so what is going on here? One of the main reasons for this is that the company selling the property actually purchased the house themselves, or they have an agent overseas who is acting on their behalf and taking a large chunk of the profits. How it normally works is that they will buy the house through a US LLC and then transfer title to another company, you will often see at this stage the price doubles. What other companies want you to believe is that they can sell the same properties for almost double the price and that the house coming fully refurbished makes it a much better investment. Is this really the case ? Have they spent over half the value of house on a refurbishment ? Does it also mean just because a property is refurbished that a tenant will stay ? Or does it mean that if a tenant leaves you are under more strain due to the higher price of the house. Other sweeteners they may throw in is a free LLC which costs $350 or a six month free warranty which costs $250. So with your refurbishment, free LLC and free warranty it justifies you paying $20,000 more for the property ? Right ? One thing you might see from time to time is rent a guarantee being offered. Is this really a guarantee ? Or has this being built into the purchase price ? So really in effect you are just paying yourself. We believe transparency is what every client needs, an exact breakdown of the costs so you know exactly what you are paying for, if you are paying thousands for a refurbishment you should at least get copies of the invoices No smoke and mirrors. What we do is very simple, we take you direct to the source in the US, we have exclusive agreements with Asset Management companies, Banks and property Brokers. The price we quote is the US listed price, not the inflated price, you are paying the true market value. Due to our volume of sales we are approached by many companies who want us to sell their properties exclusively. In fact our Broker won the Broker of the Year as we have sold more properties in Detroit than any other overseas company. I am sure that most of you will do your homework and contact other companies, which of course is the right thing to do. I am also sure other companies sometimes throw mud our way, claiming our properties are in bad areas and in a bad condition. Wrong, that is not our model, we sell in the same Zip codes and the same streets, if your property needs work we will tell you and put you in touch with local contractors, you decide how much you want to spend, you have complete control over your purchase. We want to give you an example of what we are talking about, this event took place in September 2014 and highlights exactly what can happen. On the 10th of September we were approached by a client who had seen a foreclosure on the internet. The client asked us if we could make an offer and try and secure the property for him. We obliged and also got a quote for the work needed, often you find foreclosed properties need work. The house was on McKinney Street, it was a large four bedroom house on the market for $12,000, the price for the contractors was $5,000. When we submitted the offer we advised the client to slightly increase his offer to $14,000 but unfortunately the client did not take our advice and he lost the bid. Our client was of course a bit upset but he ended up placing another offer and securing a different property. Exactly two weeks later we were forwarded a email from the same client, he received a email from another company and could not believe his eyes, it was McKinney Street, the original house he wanted. At first he was excited by the email but then he seen the price, it was now listed at $45,000. The email claimed that the property was tenanted and fully refurbished, it came with a six month warranty. If he had just lost the offer two weeks previously how could this be possible ? The deal was closed, all the work done and a tenant placed in two weeks ? The main thing to take away from this is that $28,000 had been added on to the price, the average cost of a refurbishment is $8,000-$10,000 so where did the extra $20,000 come form ? This must have been for the free LLC and six month warranty.