Detroit has hard financial times ahead. So hard, that Detroit has finally
applied for ordered bankruptcy according to Chapter 13 of the United
States bankruptcy code. This means, the city is undergoing an ordered
reorganization of the finances in order to get up to shape again.

17 billion debt isn’t sounding too well for a city. The debt was increasing more and more. All the trouble began in 2008 when the Sub Prime crisis has hit the entire world hard. Detroit, known as Motor City and being home for several automobile factories (such as General Motors, Ford and the less-known Packard) got into trouble when named companies decided to consolidate their headquarters meaning the closure of the subsidiaries in Detroit.

The result were lots of abandoned homes in the suburbs and a massive migration of habitants into other cities and/or regions. Detroit has to face high crime rate in the suburbs while the city center appears to be a lot safer. The wounds are clearly visible though.

Even once-so-glamourous buildings like the 13-storeys-high(!) Michigan Central Station, closed in 1988, offer a hard-bleeding view when you see the thrown-in windows. Plans to restore the building and put it back into operational status were made since mid 1990’s, the lack of money however put these plans into hibernation until the financial situation again allows this plan to be activated again.

The question is, however, how long Detroit is on hold and how governmental services are affected. Many seniors are fearing that their pension checks may bounce. We speak of a deficit of 2.4 billion US$ here. A big sum on the bill and probably a rectified fear.

Time will tell… sooner or later. But it looks grim for Detroit at the moment.

Oh… one more thing: If you want to obtain buildings and houses, these itinaries are going as low as a used car in price. But don’t expect these to be in a perfect condition. Crime, lack of money, and environmental influence over time have left a big scar.