BOSTON EDISON HOMES IN DETROIT UP FOR AUCTION!

This house has handsome Tudor styling and will be the first sold. 

Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press

One of the very finest of Detroit's old neighborhoods is the Boston Edison district. The Gordy Mansion is there and many other very well kept homes. There are 13 homes in various stages of disrepair up for auction to people who have the money and energy to take on a rehab project of this size.  They may win a cheap deal on a hoe but the repairs needed are not for the "faint of heart". It is exciting to see the beauty of Detroit real estate coming back to life. JOIN THIS SITE TO BID ON A PROPERTY

Exterior of 1737 Chicago is photographed in the Boston-Edison in Detroit.

The auction of vacant homes in Detroit — which aims to put empty homes that need repair into the hands of owners who'll do it — will open its new phase Tuesday in the elegant Boston-Edison Historic District. 13 homes will be auctioned online.

Jennifer Chiles, left, and Mike Jackson, both from Ann Arbor, walk into the main entryway at the house on 2081 Longfellow during the Boston Edison Auction Tour.

The house at 2081 Longfellow. Leaded glass here includes windows and French doors. Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press

Here, 13 houses will be auctioned online — one house per day — from Tuesday through June 8. It’s a collection of fine homes mostly built in the 1920s by Detroit’s celebs and gentry of the day.

SEE ALL THE HOMES 

FOR AUCTION HERE

“This was the place to live in its heyday,” said architect Rob Saxon, chief architect at the Detroit Land Bank Authority, which is running the sale. “There was everything from athletes, Ty Cobb and Joe Louis, to dignitaries to the auto manufacturers.” Other names on that list include Walter O. Briggs, Frank Navin, James Couzens, Henry Ford, Horace Rackham, Clarence Burton, S.S. Kresge, four of the seven Fisher brothers, plus their mother, Margaret Fisher.
 

The Auction

■ Each house is open for sale one day only, 9-5. Bidding is online.
■ Bidders must register with a credit card. If that bidder wins, $1,000 is charged immediately.
■ Winning bidders have three days to pay the balance of 10% down and sign a letter of Intent to Purchase.
■ Winners have 30 days to execute a contract for repairs or prove they can DIY.
■ Winners have six months to complete repairs, or nine months in a historic district.
■ Failing at any of these requirements means losing the money paid to date.
■ Only Michigan residents or business that work in the state can bid.
■ A complete list of houses and rules is at www.buildingdetroit.org.