Detroit seller signals from public records

Detroit blight tickets on homesDetroit, MI

Blight tickets written on one- and two-family dwellings (weeds, junk vehicles, exterior repairs, rental registration), updated daily. Includes the owner name and mailing address on record.

Detroit vacant property registrationsDetroit, MI

Vacant properties their owners registered with BSEED under the city's vacant property ordinance (about 1,500 since November 2025, roughly 130 a month), updated daily. The owner name is on each row; no mailing address. An owner paying to keep an empty house registered is a classic motivated seller.

Detroit registered rental propertiesDetroit, MI

Initial and renewal rental registrations BSEED has issued since 2019 (about 45,000 rows, updated daily; newest issued the day before). One house can appear once per registration; no owner names (stack with the Detroit out-of-state and absentee owner feeds for those).

Detroit houses in the city demolition pipelineDetroit, MI

Residential structures the city has ordered or scheduled for demolition but not yet torn down (about 230; updated daily, last edit 2026-11-02). Many are already land-bank owned; check ownership before outreach. No owner names.

Detroit demolition permits on privately owned propertyDetroit, MI

BSEED demolition permits where the owner on the permit is not the Detroit Land Bank, the city or a placeholder (about 4,400 since 2019; issued through 2026-10-30, updated daily). Most are owners tearing down a burned or collapsed house or garage, which often leaves a lot the owner would sell. Includes some commercial jobs.

Detroit home alteration permitsDetroit, MI

Alteration permits on one- and two-family houses (roofs, gutters, exterior and interior repairs; about 350 a month), updated daily. Pre-sale repairs are a weak signal on their own; best stacked with others. No owner names.

Detroit vacant house reports (Improve Detroit)Detroit, MI

Resident reports through the Improve Detroit app of open houses that need re-boarding, squatters, and running water in vacant houses (about 180 a month), updated daily. These are complaints, not findings: some houses turn out occupied, and many reboard requests are on land-bank houses. No owner names.

Detroit house firesDetroit, MI

Structure and room-and-contents fires at houses and small apartment buildings (about 90 a month), from the fire department's incident file. The file runs about three weeks behind (newest call 2026-10-11 on 2026-11-01) and uses this incident coding from 2026 on. A fire is not a condemnation: the house may be repaired, but fire-damaged homes are classic as-is sales. Never mention the fire in outreach. No owner names.

Detroit out-of-state homeownersDetroit, MI

Improved residential parcels (class 401) on the assessor's current parcel file whose taxpayer mails outside Michigan (about 11,200), updated daily. Includes LLCs and some large single-family rental companies.

Detroit homes owned from elsewhere in MichiganDetroit, MI

Improved residential parcels (class 401) whose taxpayer mails to a Michigan city other than Detroit (about 23,000; suburban landlords and heirs), updated daily. Owners mailing to a different Detroit address are not caught.

Detroit blight tickets for unregistered or neglected vacant housesDetroit, MI

Blight tickets written to owners who failed to register a vacant building or to keep one secured and maintained (about 4,500 a year), updated daily from the Department of Administrative Hearings. Includes the property owner's name and mailing address as the city has it, often out of state.

Detroit unpaid blight tickets on housesDetroit, MI

Blight tickets on one- and two-family houses (weeds, trash, junk vehicles, neglected garages) that the owner has not paid (about 9,000 a year), updated daily, with the owner's name and mailing address. Unpaid blight judgments are added to the tax bill, which stacks with tax foreclosure.

Detroit tickets for unregistered or uncertified rentalsDetroit, MI

Blight tickets to landlords who rent without a certificate of registration or certificate of compliance (about 8,000 a year plus general compliance tickets), updated daily, with the owner's name and mailing address. Landlords facing repeated tickets and the inspection backlog are frequent sellers. Some certificate tickets are on commercial buildings; the detail says which.