Photos: $10k homes for sale

Yesterday we showed what real estate is like in Camden, NJ as a means to reiterate a point we've made often that beyond the overall health or sickness of the national economy, when a city's economy deteriorates, it brings down everything including property values to the point that many wouldn't live in such homes if given away for free.

Today we decided to be a little more positive and upbeat.. kinda sorta..

We wondered what type of homes, if any were available to purchase if a buyer only wished to spend $10k.  To give perspective to that sum of money, there is not a single brand new 2012 automobile you can buy for under $10k before taxes unless it was a stick shift (manual transmission) and devoid of everything short of a seat and a steering wheel.

We used the Remax real estate website (we could have used any major site but that was the first we chose) and though we could have picked any city in the US to do this experiment, we selected Detroit.

Honestly, for $10k, we expected if anything, to find some real horrible homes covered with graffiti with boarded up doors and windows, overgrown grass and such..

We we surprised... we found some decent, livable homes for that price.

The reason is due to how genuinely horrible and depressed the real estate market is.  These are called 'short sales'.  The banks are desperate to rid themselves of ownership even if it means taking a loss.

And there's another factor to consider--  often in 'short sale' homes, the tenant is still occupied.  That means when you do buy that home, the person living there will immediately be kicked out on the street... like dogs.

This does not happen in a real estate "Recovery".

As stated yesterday, we will provide basic information about the homes but not the street addresses for privacy purposes.  All homes here are for sale as of today and if you're interested in buying something you see, that's up to you to take the time to research this on real estate sites on your own.

Remember, all the following homes listed for sale at $10k:

3 bedrooms, 1 bath --  "Beautiful brick bungalow with updates. Maintained condition in magnificent area. This property has a fire place, full basement, newer windows"

2 bedrooms, 1 bath --  "Finished Upper Bedroom, Bar in Basement, Plenty of Storage"

3 bedrooms, 2.5 bath --   "FEATURES INCLUDE: LG DECK ON UPPER FLOOR IN BACK OF HOUSE, FIRE PLACE IN LIV.ROOM, NEW CARPET IN SOME ROOMS, NEW ROOF, NEW ELECT. BOX, NEW PLUMBING, 3 NEW SECURITY DOORS, FENCED YARD..."

2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath -- "BRICK BUNGALOW WITH FIREPLACE. WELL KEPT HOUSE"  (photo taken last June & still for sale)

3 bedrooms, 2 baths -- "This BRICK home has TWO kitchens and TWO baths. The first floor kitchen has GRANITE counter tops. The basement is finished."

3 bedrooms, 1 bath -- "BEAUTIFUL FIREPLACE IN LIVING ROOM. PARTIALLY FINISHED BASEMENT COULD BE USED AS 4TH BEDROOM OR FAMILY ROOM. LOTS OF STORAGE SPACE LOCATED IN LOWER LEVEL."

When we searched the real estate website, we found 113 listings in Detroit... every home a short sale; every home listed for $10k.

We don't want to make it seem like magically all one needs is exactly $10k and the home is yours.  There's usually back taxes to be paid and processing fees, etc.   And once you do move in, undoubtedly there's going to be the need for some repairs and remodeling.

Nonetheless, you are getting a livable home for less than a brand new Kia or Subaru..   That is assuming the previous homeowners who've probably lived their whole lives before being kicked to the curb, don't get some revenge on your property on their way out the door.