Navigating the Detroit Land Bank Authority: Duke it Out w/ DeShawn Wilson

Welcome to our brand new mini-series called Duke it Out with DeShawn Wilson of Duke Investments where we sit down with our Development Associate, DeShawn! This series is dedicated to expanding on conversations DeShawn runs into through meeting with Detroit contractors, investors, and innovators. In this first installment, we are diving into the process of developing on Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) properties. 

We cover the complete development process from initial property selection through final certificate of occupancy, including key challenges like high property taxes, first right of lien requirements, and the importance of Neighborhood Enterprise Zones for tax benefits. We also explain why the role of architects is so important in the development process.

Episode Highlights:

• Purchasing parcels from the DLBA.
• Neighborhood Enterprise Zones (NEZ).
• Navigating Detroit property taxes.
• Important due diligence steps. 
• Specific considerations for Veterans.

View the full Show Notes for episode 80.

To learn more about Duke Investments, head over to their website, and connect with DeShawn on Instagram.

Ready to move forward with your project? Contact us here and we will put you in contact with the right member of our team.

Make sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedInto stay up to date on new project releases, trainings, and more. 

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
I don't want a hard surgeon working on my brain.
The paperwork wasn't right.
Those things will chew you upand spit you out.
A lot of people are veryskeptical about hiring an
architect.
Why?
How do I start?
What do I do with the DetroitLand Bank Authority parcel?

(00:20):
Welcome back to another episodeof the Innovative Real Estate
Podcast.
But today we're doing a shortversion episode.
Uh, this will be the firstinstallment of our mini-series
called Duke It Out with DeshaunWilson of Duke Investments.

SPEAKER_00 (00:34):
Say what up.
What's going on, people?
How y'all doing today?
Glad to be uh sitting here withmy brother and my colleague
Breck.
Thanks for inviting me.
I'm looking forward to ourconversation.

SPEAKER_01 (00:45):
One of many conversations.
So uh Deshaun is a man who isout and about.
He is shaking hands and he ismeeting folks all throughout
Detroit, um, from contractors toinvestors to innovators to
people who are practicing uhenergy recovery and doing some
of that HVAC work as well.

(01:05):
So he's a man who wears manyhats.
Um, this segment is dedicated toconversations that Deshaun runs
into um through meeting allthese various people.
And he comes back to the officeuh as as an associate for us,
and he says, Hey, here's here'swhat people are getting stuck
on.
And one of those recurringconversations has been, and
Deshaun, I'm gonna let you askthe question your own way, but

(01:27):
like, how do I start?
What do I do with the DetroitLand Bank Authority parcel?
Right?
This is something you run intoall the time.
So set the stage.
We're gonna play role-playingtoday, and you're gonna be
somebody who's trying to developon land bank land, and you're
gonna come to me with a bunch ofquestions and we're gonna go
through the process.
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 (01:47):
So, yeah, um, you know, as a as a client, uh,
thanks for uh speaking with me.
Uh, what I wanted to know was umas far as the land bank process,
what is the first step?
Who do I contact?
Um, is there is it a longprocess?
But starting out, um, I've seena couple of parcels from my
understanding that um you canbuy two if there's an empty lot

(02:08):
or a home, you can buy two lotsto the left, two lots to the
right, and three to the back.
Is that still current?
Is it or is the land bank um alittle bit more strict now?

SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
Woo! Coming in hot with all the questions.
All right.
So, first things first, you'relooking at DLBA parcels.
I'm assuming you're looking atthe DLBA website.
Is that a correct assumption?

SPEAKER_00 (02:30):
That is correct.

SPEAKER_01 (02:31):
Okay, all right.
Well, it's a good thing and abad thing.
Let's unpack it.
It's a good thing that you'relooking at DLBA owned parcels.
However, there are somedifferences of their marketed
parcels versus theirnon-marketed parcels.
Let's start there.
Marketed parcels means that theyhave actually attached that

(02:51):
parcel to a real estate agent,and that parcel is available by
contacting that real estateagent, and then it triggers the
bigger conversation around yourpurchase agreement ultimately
with the land bank.
If you're just looking at landon their website that is owned
by the DLBA, then that is aconversation that you need to
have with the Detroit Land BankAuthority first and foremost.

(03:14):
And the question is, is thisparcel available?
Question mark.
Because you will find out that alot of the property that they
own are not currently available.
And they don't have thosefiltered or distinguished
differently on their website.
So that's a good place to startis if you are ready to rock and

(03:34):
roll on a project and you'relooking at DLBI opportunities,
start with the marketedproperties.
Those are going to be popping upon Redfin, on Zillow, like
they're going to be on yournormal listing websites, and uh,
and you'll be able to contact anagent and then initiate that
process from there.
That's the first half of yourquestion.
So you can see how how long thisconversation can get going once
you get started here.

(03:55):
It won't be a short segmenttoday, but hey, we're trying
here.
Uh, the second half of yourquestion is uh parcels to the
left and right of you.
Okay, so this adjacent parcelconversation has long time been
a tool of the DLBA.
The DLBA, I will say, is rootedin the efforts to they took over
ownership of 60,000 propertiesplus in the city of Detroit,

(04:17):
right?
It's the biggest land bank ofits kind in existence in the
United States.
And so their goal is ultimatelyto find a good owner for all of
these 65,000 parcels, right?
Okay, that's that's it intheory.
In practice, it's way morecomplicated.
You'll find out that a lot ofthose parcels work as political
leverage for the people who arein power, namely the mayor's

(04:39):
office in the city of Detroit.
That means that a lot of theseparcels are say flagged for a
future development.
That means that they're notavailable for people,
individuals playing Monopolywith small figures.
You know what I mean?
Like these are these are theseare parcels that are meant for
people who uh whose uh name endsin Illich or Gilbert or Maroon,

(05:02):
right?
Okay, it's a different tier,right?
And so you're trying to weed outwhat properties are even
available for me to look atfirst and foremost.
I know you're confused, and nowyou got some questions.
I'm gonna throw back to you now.

SPEAKER_00 (05:13):
So as far as so from what I'm understanding, is that
if I read it correctly, a lot ofdevelopers are coming to Detroit
because of the landscape andwhat we have to offer right now.
Um, we're Detroit is a gold mineright now, as far as the land
and development is concerned,but a lot of outside investors
are coming in and they'reactually buying these parcels

(05:33):
and they're either putting treeson them or they're just letting
them send it.
So, you know, my my question iswhen I'm looking for a parcel um
throughout the city, for one, umwhether the question is what do
we do as far as someone having abig plot of land next to you and

(05:54):
you would like to purchasesomething close to that land,
but it's not being developed, ifthat makes sense.
So basically what I'm saying isthat if I wanted to buy a park
property and I'm looking in thezone, basically what I'm saying
is green zones, like greenzones, development zones.
How do I go about looking atparcels that I may be able to
get some type of tax credits fordevelopment of that land?

SPEAKER_01 (06:17):
Uh okay.
Well, so there's there's thereal essence of the question,
right?
Because you've touched on notjust DLBA opportunities, you've
opened it up to okay, what arethe opportunities here?
Detroit is still the Wild Westfor a lot of intents and
purposes, like for what peopleare used to in developing, like
you know, major urban zones,Detroit is gonna feel like a

(06:41):
cakewalk because you really canpropose what you want to do.
And the city is is in support ofmost any development that comes
their way, as long as there's agood plan of execution attached
to it.
Um, so that you're gonna havesupport if you're coming in here
to develop, whether that's foryourself or for an opportunity,
like you're not gonna getpushback against that.

(07:02):
Where you get stuck in Detroitimmediately out the gate is
taxes.
Okay.
Detroit taxes will eat youalive.
And so while we're talking aboutlooking for DLBA parcels,
because I do want to keep this aland bank-centric conversation
for today, um, we need toestablish that the problem out

(07:26):
the gate is gonna be Detroitproperty taxes.
Brief history why are propertytaxes high in the city of
Detroit?
Well, because when they say amillion people left the city,
they they mean it like a millionpeople left the city of Detroit.
They're everywhere, like youhave all met someone from
Detroit somewhere in your life,and it wasn't in Detroit, and
it's because they spread out,okay?

SPEAKER_00 (07:47):
Yeah, they usually migrate down south, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
100%.
So they're they're everywhere.
We built a city that couldsupport up to four million
people, and now we've got lessthan a million people living in
it.
That means that ourinfrastructure is way oversized
and it sprawls way farther thanit needs to right now.
We have oversized infrastructurethat is crumbling because not
enough people are using it,which means the tax base that's

(08:10):
paying in to keep those systemsmanaged and upkept and
maintained is not it's notthere.
So they're stretching it thinand they're charging high taxes
as a result.
So we need to have a plan outthe gate.
First things first.
I would suggest if you'relooking for a development
opportunity in the city ofDetroit, whether you're trying

(08:32):
to build yourself there orwhether you're trying to develop
it there as a as a play, you uhyou should look at neighborhood
enterprise zones.
So this is actually astate-level program run through
Lansing, and um they haveblessings to to create these
zones in the city of Detroit.

(08:53):
They are economic breaks, whichtranslates into roughly a 75 up
to 75 percent break on yourtaxes for up to 15 years.
Pretty good.
So uh when they look at a singlefamily house uh that we're
developing in Detroit, and theysay, uh it's a half a million
dollar house, so the stateequalized value of half of that

(09:16):
is 250,000.
Multiply that by our millagerate in Detroit, which is like
0.69 and some change, you getroughly$20,000 in property taxes
per year on a new constructionsingle family residence.
It's a no-fly zone.
You can't you can't develop.

(09:37):
You talk to a bank, and the bankwill tell you your mortgage is
less than your tax bill, whichis just it's it's crazy.
It's crazy.
Okay, so we need to understandthat taxes are the problem at
the end of the project.
So before we start the project,we gotta have a plan.
So right now, there's really tworoutes in the city of Detroit

(09:58):
that I'm currently aware of, andthat's the neighborhood
enterprise zone or NEZ, and thenthere's the pilot payment in
lieu of taxes, depending on whatyou're trying to build and what
you're trying to develop.
Either of those areconversations you want to start.
NEZs are little bubbles all overthe city of Detroit.
So you can go to the Detroitwebsite, look up neighborhood
enterprise zone map, and it'llshow you where all of those

(10:20):
zones are.
And you could start by lookingfor parcels in those zones
because you know that you canapply for the tax break if you
bought a parcel that's in thatzone.
Absolutely.
You are not in that zone.
You can apply to make a new NEZ.
That is a time-consuming, uhfairly expensive process.

(10:44):
Yeah.
And you need at least 10 lots totrigger that.

SPEAKER_00 (10:50):
So basically you're rezoning.

SPEAKER_01 (10:53):
It's not, it's not a rezoning, it's uh it's an
establishment of a new taxoverlay on the zoning that's
there.
So if you're a developer comingin and you're developing 20, 30
lots at once to create uh amid-rise multifamily or you're
doing condominiums or somethingof that nature, then it would be

(11:14):
worth your time and energy tocreate a neighborhood enterprise
zone before engaging in theproject.

SPEAKER_00 (11:21):
So before we dig too far into the weeds, um help me
understand what the first rightof refusal, because I've heard,
and this is just speculation,what I've heard is if you buy a
parcel and you send in yourpreliminary plan review and it
gets approved, and then the nextthing you know, you're
developing it, and then you runout of money and you can't

(11:43):
finish development, but you'vegiven the city a timeline to
when you're you think your uhconstruction or rehab is going
to be done.
What happens?
Because a lot of banks will nottake on that loan because they
want most banks want first rightrefusal on that partial.
So if the land bank has it, alot of times people are running

(12:05):
into loan, they can't get a loanbecause they the bank wants
first right refusal for thatproperty, meaning basically they
can take it if you don't finishthe the project and it goes back
to the land bank.

SPEAKER_01 (12:15):
Well, Deshaun, you have certainly been doing your
homework and reading these uhthese purchase agreement
contracts because that isexactly where this language
comes from.
Okay, so for those that arefollowing along, right now we
have established that theproperty that we want is
available, number one, andnumber two, I've got a plan for

(12:37):
my taxes.
So let's say the property thatI'm looking at is both confirmed
available by the land bank andit is in a neighborhood
enterprise zone.
So I can apply for that to havea tax reduction on this
property.
Next thing's next.
I'm gonna go back to the landbank and I'm gonna say, all
right, I'm ready to go.
Let's make an offer.
And that's where you canactually haggle.

(12:58):
I'm not gonna lie.
You could you can you canactually, you know, have a
conversation with the land bankand make an offer.
My rule, my suggestion forpeople who are trying to buy
with the land bank is whateverthey say, give them$500 extra.
Just make that make thatconversation disappear, you
know, kind of kind of feel itout.
But it is contingent on theneighborhood that you're in,

(13:19):
right?
Like I bought a parcel in NorthCorktown.
I paid premium dollar for that,even though it was less than
market price.
It was premium dollar for thefor the land bank, right?
If you're looking at propertythat's like over on the fringes
of like McDougal Hunt, or we'regetting up to the Dexter
Lynwood, like Brightmore.
Yeah, like you can you you cankind of feel out like how many

(13:42):
projects are under constructionin the neighborhood.
That's a pretty good indicatorof like, all right, am I what
about that?

SPEAKER_00 (13:47):
The median housing market.
Do you take that into consconsideration too?

SPEAKER_01 (13:50):
When you're being you you can, but like I'll be
honest, your personal vibes canprobably get a better idea of
property values in Detroit thantrying to track down median
incomes.
I just think the data doesn'tgive you a good example.
Like, if I'm walking through aneighborhood and people are on
their bikes and you hear likedogs barking and saws and

(14:12):
hammers, like, all right, thisis an active neighborhood and
it's coming along.
If you're out there and youdon't hear anything for a half
hour, like okay, I'm gonna offeryou, I'm gonna offer you a
hundred bucks for each of thesesongs.

SPEAKER_00 (14:25):
For real, because yeah, absolutely it's not
conducive to my living, myliving style.

SPEAKER_01 (14:29):
Right, okay.
So now we say, All right, LambBank, I'm ready to go.
Send me a purchase agreement.
Okay, they say, our heads onfire, we have so many things
going on, we might get back toyou, we might not.
Keep emailing them, stay ontheir case.
Okay, they might forget aboutyou, you can't forget about

(14:50):
them.
So do be annoying, keep pushingon the conversation.
Eventually, you'll get them torespond.
What you're after is a purchaseagreement.
Um, they will trigger theirfirst wall of defense, or uh, I
guess listen, this was all put.
Let me let me pause here and goback to a comment that you made
like investors buying land anddoing something with it,

(15:11):
planting trees, or just likebiding their time.
Yeah, the rules that we're aboutto unpack with the land bank
exist because of that issue,because people were buying
swaths of neighborhoods, andthen they were just sitting on
it, letting the buildings decayuntil they could get their
payday eventually.
And uh it was a disgustingpractice, and uh, we see it time
and time again.
It's still happening, but we'retrying to weed it out.

(15:32):
Okay, so all of this comes froma place of good intention, okay?
So let's start there.
Okay, okay, so the the firstwall of defense, and the reason
these these exist is uh so firstthings first, land bank is going
to punt you to the planning anddesign department of Detroit.

(15:53):
And this is where things startto get tricky because they say,
show us a design for thisproperty, and you're like, Well,
I don't even know if I'm allowedto get this property yet or not.
I haven't paid you any money forit, so I don't really want to
pay an architect to do a designright now.
That's the first point thatpeople get caught up.
Okay.
So there's like you can you canuse AI and make a rendering,

(16:13):
like that.
You know, these guys do this fora living, they're gonna look at
it and be like, you need to hiresomebody to look at it.
Now, I'll admit this process isa little backwards.
I I wish that I didn't have toget PDD approval to get the
purchase agreement from the landbank, but so be it.
Okay.
When you say PDD, what does thatmean?
Planning and design departmentof Detroit.
Yep.
So they're they're the guys whoum basically like how your house

(16:36):
looks and feels from theoutside.
Like, does it match thecharacter of the neighborhood?
Are these like you know, verycorrect materials on the
outside?
Does it look like an alienspaceship that an architect
dropped here on planet Earth?
You know, like those are theguys that basically guys and and
girls that deal with that.

SPEAKER_00 (16:53):
They gotta be conducive to the neighborhood
aesthetics, um, basically.
I mean, that really makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 (16:59):
Planning and design.
Yeah, yeah.
So that's so they're looking atthat.
So if you get an approval fromPDD, the design guys, they will
then give permission back to theland bank to start the purchase
agreement process.
Cool.
Thumbs up.
Yeah.
In the event that this takes youa while, you can have what they

(17:20):
called a hold maintenanceagreement on your property.
So you could go to the land bankand say, I want to buy this
property, I'm willing to offerthis.
You can have your yourdiscussion about dollars and
cents.
They say, All right, that soundsgood.
You need PDD approval.
You say, Can I get a holdmaintenance agreement so that
I'm the only person who'sallowed to bid on this property
and continue this conversation?

(17:41):
Oh, sweet.
So they'll they'll usually grantthat and they'll say, All right,
you gotta mow the lawn, yougotta shovel the box, you know,
you gotta keep it prim andproper while we have this
discussion, but then that buysyou some time.
Absolutely.
Okay, all right.
There's there's timelines allover this conversation, largely
great.
As long as you're still humanand alive and doing your thing,
you're gonna meet the timelines.

(18:02):
Don't worry about them.
Don't even let them be uh ahurdle in the back of your mind.
Okay, so now we're moving on.
Uh, now you get a purchaseagreement from the land bank
because PDD said, thumbs up,looks good.
I like your rendering and yourplan sketch.
So now you're in the purchaseagreement phase and you read
that purchase agreement, and nowhere's where the bank

(18:23):
conversation comes in.
Because now real money is aboutto be transacted, even if it's a
small amount because you'regetting a deal on a land bank
property.
Here's the major flag land bankowns that property alongside you
until you are done with theproject and receive a magical
ticket called your certificateof occupancy.

(18:46):
Once you receive your CFO, theyrelease their uh mystical chains
on the project, and you are nowfree of their commitment.
Um, that holds them, you arecorrect, in first right of lien.
What does that mean?
What does that mean?
Uh so first right of lien meansif the world ends and I I don't

(19:10):
make it, but my uh but part ofmy house or development remains
um unfinished.
Whoever's in first right of lienwho is loaning money on that
project and has taken the mostrisk, hypothetically, gets to
claim that project as their own.
They would absorb it.
So what it is is it's a rugpull.

(19:31):
They have the opportunity at anypoint in this process, if you're
not abiding by their rules ofengagement, that they could take
the project back from you.
And if they do so, the nastytruth is that you don't get any
of your money back.
Wow.
So if I've dug a hole, if I'vepoured foundations and I didn't
meet their rules and they pullthe rug, that's their

(19:53):
foundation.
That's that's their land again.
And uh, I don't get my purchaseagreement money back, I don't
get my hold maintenanceagreement back, you know.
That's so so you do you do wantto keep in constant
communication.
Now, I say this because that isa tool that has been used, and
we're not gonna get into whetherit's whether it's good or evil,

(20:14):
but what I will say is that Idon't think the intention is
that that rule is there to blockdevelopment of projects.
I don't think it's there as athreat.
I think it is there as anunfortunate ripcord scenario
that they had to pull because ofsome bad interactions.
Again, I want to believe thatthis all comes from a place of
good intention.
But I'm just here laying out therules as somebody who's gone

(20:36):
through this process a multitudeof times for myself as a
developer and working withclients, both as an architect
and as a co-developer.
So uh so I'm just trying tobring some experience to the
table when we go through this.
Okay.
So that means this is bank thatmight be lending on this
project.
People who are financiallybacking your project, your bank

(20:56):
has to go, wait.
So if I loan money on thisproject, the land bank gets to
keep everything.
Yeah, that makes zero sense.
I'm out.
Most banks will say this.

SPEAKER_02 (21:06):
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (21:07):
Right.
Okay, there's a few banks whoare used to working with the
land bank.
Um, there are groups aroundhere, and um, if people reach
out to you, um, to Deshaun atDuke Investments, so they reach
out to me, Brett Crandall,director of design at Three
Squared.
Uh, we're gonna tell you whothose who those opportunities
are and who the connections wehave made are, but they have

(21:30):
processed with lawyers back andforth what they call a
subordination agreement, whichsays we'll make a couple of
deals and okay, we'll let youhave this right of lien so that
we can loan on this project.
We're comfortable with this,we've done enough of these
developments before.
I will say not every bank'sgonna do this.
Most banks won't do this.

(21:52):
Banks that have been in Detroit,have ties to the DLBA and have a
history of working with them aregonna be your best route.
So if you Are you serious aboutland bank property because it's
in the right location, it's inthe right price range, then you
need to check on taxes, and thenyou need to talk to a bank

(22:13):
before you start dealing withthe land bank?
That would be my suggestion.
I would ask your bank, I wouldsay, can you subordinate with
the Detroit Land Bank Authorityand get through their document?
You can find copies of theirpurchase agreement language all
over the internet.
So I think it'd be easy tocircumvent that process if you
started talking with the bankearly.

SPEAKER_00 (22:32):
So question if uh now, do we have to uh make sure
that the title was clear or doesthe land bank already do that as
far as the land?
Because I've heard horrorstories about people purchasing
land, but it was um as far asthe deed, fake deeds and titles,
and it was in another person'sname and they ended up getting a
quick claim deed, and then itends up um, you know, they

(22:54):
pretty much end up losing theirmoney because they uh the
paperwork wasn't right, and thetitle is not clear and to for
the purchase of that parcel orwhatever struck.

SPEAKER_01 (23:04):
Yeah, no, that's a fantastic question.
So uh so so clearing uh title ispart of the transaction process,
but but it is a it is a it is ahuman thing dealing with you
know 60,000 parcels plus andthey're understaffed, they're

(23:27):
overworked, mistakes get madefrequently.
So you uh on the buyer side,listen, I was dealing with the
land bank, you bet I worked withan agent.
I brought in a buyer's agent,and I had my agent run all of
that so that I didn't have toask those questions because I'm
not a title expert, I'm not anexpert on what to ask, you know.
And that that my my particularagent, um, you know, he's he's a

(23:51):
good friend of mine, and he'shelped me, you know, buy and
sell homes in the past.
Uh and and so he he reallypushed them on he needs a clear
title, not a quick claim.
And when we had red flags popup, we had title check on that.
They suggest a title company,you don't have to use their
title company.
You can you, as the buyer, candictate who the title company

(24:13):
is, I'm pretty sure.
And and so, like, know the titlecompany you're working with,
because because some of them areused to working with the land
bank, and if they run into anissue like that, then they're
fully prepared to like makeright on it, right?
Like, nobody's trying to leaveyou with an issue.
Now, getting your deed, uh goodluck.
I'll talk to you, I'll talk toyou in a year or two.

(24:34):
Um, and then a year after that,I'll talk to you about your tax
estimate that eventually willcome from the city of Detroit,
because the first year or sothey're like, You guess, no,
that was wrong.
I'm like, okay, okay, nobodyknows what's going on.
All right, um, so we're at thepoint in the process where uh
your bank has said, All right,we've signed the subordination

(24:56):
agreement, you have yourpurchase agreement in hand,
you're heading to the closingtable.
Closing day comes, they get youyour clear title, title agency
is giving you all yourdocuments, you're signing a
thousand things.
This land now belongs to you.
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 (25:14):
All right, what are you doing next?
So, once that so this is what Ithink a lot of people and I want
to ask this question, a lot ofpeople are afraid or they want
don't want to they have an ideaof what they want to put on that
land unless it's a a structurealready, and they want to do
because the land bank offersrehab and ready homes that
they've worked on and partial,and then you pretty much have to

(25:34):
pay that portion off.
Um that uh just to finish therehab.
You pay them if I'm correct, youpay them what the money they put
into the property to partiallyrehab it, you buy it, and then
you finish out the rehab.
So those are rehab and ready.

SPEAKER_01 (25:50):
Um so rehab versus just a blank slate, right?
Okay.
Um so if you're an aspiringdeveloper who's looking at DLBA
land and you've made it this farin the conversation, then good.
This this short little episodehas turned into like a
full-blown exercise in the landbank, which I'm all for.

(26:11):
This is how things naturallyplay out.
So I love it.
Um, I would say, largelyspeaking, here, unless you are a
home builder who has a ton ofexperience in flipping costing,
and unless you've got likebuyers' lines of credit with
with builders' networks and andand you know what you're doing.

(26:34):
Like if everything that I justsaid made sense to you, then
rehab ready is your lane.
Go.
I you don't even need me.
Don't talk to me.
I gave you everything you needup to now to acquire those
properties.
Go be well.
For everyone else listening,that is not your game.
Do not get sucked into that as ashiny spoon, those things will
chew you up and spit you out.
Like, it's not worth it.

(26:56):
You want a clean slate.
Absolutely.
So I'm gonna I'm gonna stopthere because uh that that term
is carrying a uh a lot of weightright now.
Clean slate.
Let me be clear the Detroit LandBank Authority is not selling
you building ready properties.
What they are giving you is whatit is as it stands.

(27:16):
Absolutely.
Rest is on you.
So in addition to checking thetax status, is it in a zone?
Um, in addition to finding mybank that is willing to work
with the DLBA, in addition togetting this through PDD,
because I've already like giventhem a rendering, an idea of
what I'm planning to do on thisproperty.

(27:37):
Yeah, now I need to do my duediligence.
Due diligence is on the buyer,that's on you, Deshaun.
So, what you're gonna do now isyou're going to start your
pre-development funds, andyou're spending more money
immediately out the gate.
You thought the land was the endof it?
No, no, no.
Now it needs a power cord, yougotta plug that thing in.
No, so it's like yeah, batteriesnot included.

(28:00):
So the batteries for buying landfrom the DLBA is you better hire
a uh surveyor to give you aproper survey of the property.
Absolutely.
Do not do not trust any otherdata than the surveyor you have
paid money to, and they haveprovided your survey.
Okay, there's there's a coupledifferent types of survey.
What I would suggest you arelooking for is a boundary and

(28:20):
topographic survey.
Topography generally applies tolike change in slope, but
topographic information alsoincludes locations of high
points, low points.
It tells me where my sewer is,it tells me where electrical
lines are gonna be.
All of that data is reallyheights and elevations, stuff
like that, setbacks, heights,and elevations, which most

(28:41):
properties in Detroit are gonnabe flat and no, no surprises,
but there might be a little bitof change.

SPEAKER_00 (28:46):
I got a question.
So going through this process,um, and I think you ran into
this when you purchased yourproperty.
A lot of the homes here inDetroit are usually like 30 foot
by 100, 120 feet long, but a lotof them had structures already
on them.
A lot of people don't know thatthose homes are torn down and

(29:08):
then put into the ground becausemost of our homes have basements
here.
So they pretty much implode thehouse and put it in the
basement.
How important is that for thepurchaser to know that under
there it's a whole bunch ofdebris?
Plus, we ran into the um problemwith the backfield dirt, the
contaminated backfield dirt.
So I know I'm opening up a canof whoop whoopee, but yeah, you

(29:32):
know, um, these are things thatpeople need to know when they're
purchasing these lots.
Because if you purchase one ofthese lots that has this
contaminated dirt and it hasn'tbeen um taken out and refilled,
you can run into a lot oftrouble.
Because once you per, like yousaid, once you purchase it, it's
yours.
So is that the survey's job, sosurveyor's job, or is that the
purchaser's job?

SPEAKER_01 (29:52):
No, that is that's your mess now, man.
And this is this is where Istart getting pretty frustrated
with the land bank, right?
Because all right, you weren'topen and honest about the
parcels that were actuallyavailable to me out the gate.
I had to call you and ask whichones are available.
You didn't tell me about the taxissue.
I had to find that out myself.

(30:13):
And for a lot of people, thehard way, late in the process.
Here's the other little flag onneighborhood enterprise zones,
just so everybody's aware.
You have to get into the NEZprogram before you build the
property.
You cannot do it in the otherorder.
So if you built it and you'rehoping to get a tax break
afterwards, yeah, I'm so sorryto be the one to tell you you're

(30:36):
not in that program.
You're gonna have to findanother way to try to get some
tax breaks.
So everyone be warned.
If you need into that, okay, soso here's the thing: like at
this point, all right, I had tofind the property, I had to
figure out the bank.
I had to like basically takesecond place to you and your
rules because of some historywith bad developers and stuff.

(31:00):
Delay, delay, delay, delay.
They're beating me up pretty badat this point, and then I find
out oh, there's a house buriedon the site you you gave me, and
my sewer was built in 1830, andit's made of bricks.
What I didn't even think thatwas possible.
I didn't I thought that was ajoke, and then you find out that
this stuff is real, and thenyour soil is contaminated, and

(31:23):
you also have 37 trees growingout of the fence row that have
been there for 20 years, andthey're dangerous, they're
falling over on people.
I bought a lot, I was awindstorm, a tree fell down, it
hit my neighbor's house.
Guess what?
That's my fault now that Ibought that land from a land
bag.
Lucky for me, I got goodneighbors.

(31:43):
Can't choose your family, andyou can't choose your neighbors.
I've been very lucky on bothaccounts, but wow, but you you
get you get the point.
Like it is your responsibilityat this point.
So let's back it up.
Uh, let's let's start withfoundations.
Okay, uh, back to the historylessons pre-1985.
Just okay, so like for a good uhnearly 20 years, uh after after

(32:10):
Detroit's kind of downfall, um,there was a lot of abandoned
buildings and there was a lot ofarson and splunking and
everything you can imagine.
So these houses decayed inplace, right?
So they would go down and theywould drill a couple holes in
the basement slab so water coulddrain through it, and they would
literally bulldoze the house inon itself and just cover it with

(32:31):
a layer of dirt.
So for a lot of unfortunatepeople, you probably got sold
land with a buried house on it.
I was one of those people.
You can look at the uh the therewas a a series of fire insurance
maps called the Sanborne maps,um, that were generated way back
yonder.
I'm not even gonna pretend toknow what year that was, but

(32:52):
those maps are probably the bestum capture of Detroit's
footprint and like a figureground study.
So like the footprints of everybuilding.
And you can look at all theparcel maps and you could see if
there was a house at one pointin Detroit on your property.
Uh, it's a pretty quick check onthat.
Um, how do I know for surewhat's under the ground?
Back to batteries not included.

(33:14):
Get yourself a survey.
Yep.
And then I would suggest foranybody serious about developing
on land bank property, groundpenetrating radar.
What that is is you know, it's astand, you put it on the ground,
and it shoots into the groundand it bounces back and it tells
you how soft the things areunderneath you, so it can
identify.
Uh, if I would have done that onmy property, I would have seen

(33:34):
all of the chunks of brick walland foundations that are right
underneath me.
Because when we started digging,even though I did a shallow
house to kind of rest it on topof the land, even going in a few
feet into my soil, I was stillhitting chunks of concrete.
If I did ground penetratingradar, which is which is
relatively cheap, we're talkinglike you know, 500 bucks-ish for

(33:56):
a typical lot in Detroit, likethat is worth it for me to have
an x-ray view of what'sunderneath me, you know.
So I know what I'm getting into.
Um, and then you got to be awarethat that that uh you're on the
hook to take down trees that areon the property.
So if you've got a ton of youknow, issue trees and trees in
Detroit usually not great, andmost of them are like weed

(34:18):
trees, what people would referto.
Um, they're gonna be the tree ofparadise and mulberry trees,
which they look pretty, but theproblem is is that wood grows
very quickly, so it's a veryspongy cell structure, and so
you get gusts of wind, and thosethings are prone to snap, and
then they're really quitedangerous.
So, um, so while they look likeyou've got this beautiful like
tree line on your site, likemost of that does have to be cut

(34:41):
back or cut down, so that wecould have like uh, you know,
more more native species, moreplantings that are supposed to
be here that can survive throughhardy winters and things like
that.

SPEAKER_00 (34:51):
I wanted to touch base on what something that you
said earlier, um, because a lotof people are very skeptical
about hiring an architect.
Right.
And at the end of the day, youknow, before I got into this um
profession and and you know,learning from you and the team

(35:11):
here about developing, a lot oftimes um they don't want people
don't want to, you know, becauseit's extra money, you know, and
architects are expensive,everybody knows that.
But when just like you said,what's worth it and what is not
worth it, um, because a lot ofpeople will go online and
they'll grab a sketch offline,you know, um, they'll build

(35:31):
something through Canva orsomething and they'll say, hey,
they'll take that for their uhpreliminary um their their
review, their PPR, and then umthe PP PDD they'll they'll say,
okay, yeah, you're good to go.
Um but what is the importance ofyou know, your your your when

(35:53):
you you you're buying a a parceland you're gonna build maybe a
dream homework, maybe it's aninvestment.
What is the importance of anarchitect and why is it worth
hiring an architect to actuallygive you your schematic designs
and your 3D imaging and thengoing through that process?
You know, we here in ThreeSquared, I know we we hand walk
everybody through every processbecause that's just how we

(36:15):
operate.
But a lot of people do not wantto hire an architect um to get
their design.
Um I've never seen a moresmoother process than we offer
here, but at the end of the day,um why give me your opinion on
why you think it people areskeptical about hiring an
architect?

unknown (36:31):
Why?

SPEAKER_01 (36:32):
Because we cost money and nobody wants to spend
money.
Everybody thinks they could doeverything themselves, but
there's a reason why there'sprofession behind what I do.
It's a it's a lot of it's a lotof work, it's a lot of
education, like it's verywell-rounded, balanced
understanding of thiscomplicated uh puzzle pieces.
But I mean, at the end of theday, like a small scale, uh a

(36:53):
single family house, somethinglike that, like there's with the
parameters in place, with therestrictions in place, there's
only so many ways you can put ittogether.
I'm not gonna say that like youneed an architect in order to
design your own house.
If you find the right architect,it could be a much, much better
house if you work with somebody,if that's your goal.
Now, if you're a developer andyou're here trying to make a

(37:15):
profit, well, then an architectto me as a developer is is
pertinent.
Like if I if I'm in adevelopment mindset and I'm
serious about making money, Ihave two friends on speed dial.
I have a lawyer on speed dial,and I've got an architect on
speed dial, which probably havea doctor for myself too.
But, anyways, I need to know whothose who those characters are

(37:36):
because I need somebody who cansupport me and answer questions
on a pinch.
Like things that I don't knowabout that I can't speak
professionally to.
I need somebody who can andwho's at the ready to to you
know to jump into theseconversations and support me.
Um, so from a developmentstandpoint, my architect is not
like only here to make thingslook pretty, right?
Like my architect carries a lotof weight.

(37:56):
My architect tells me what ispossible, he helps me with my
zoning, he guess and checks mynumbers so that my pro forma
matches what I what I need tomake out of this.
Like he gives me like roughapproximations of like what I
can and can't do so that I canmake the decisions on what I
should and will do.
Yeah, like my architect isfeeding me all of that.

(38:18):
We are constantly going throughlike iterations of how this
development can structure andwhat the rules of engagement
are.
That is a delicate dance.
That is a delicate dance thatneeds to be played in
partnership with people whobuild things and with the
developers themselves.
Like that is the trio rightthere.
It is an architect, a developer,and your general contractor.

(38:40):
Exactly.
Like that is the team you needto be a successful developer,
and you need to be able to trustall those people as well.
And so at that point, myarchitect is not only giving me
confidence in every step that Imake, but also doing the grind,
the research on actualconstruction types.
Is the way we are thinking weare about to do this the best

(39:02):
way of doing this, or are therebetter ways out there?
So there are a million ways tobuild a building that all arrive
at the same conclusions.
Does it meet code?
Yes, it has to meet code, or wecan't build it.
Code is the bare minimum.
It is not something to be proudof.
It is a box to check in theprocess.
Okay, so you can build with allsorts of different materials.
We're working with panels, we'reworking with traditional

(39:23):
framing, we're working withmasonry, we're working with
steel, so on and so forth.
Like each project requires thatparticular uh you know, unique
touch to address all thesethings and pull it together.
That's what my architect'sdoing.
My architect's taking this everycomplicated thing and reining it
in so that I know that we canafford it, we could design what

(39:44):
works, we could think insystems, and we can produce a
building that will make me aprofit at the end of the day.
That's why I'm hiring anarchitect.
If I'm designing my dream house,I'm hiring an architect for
probably a very differentreason.
Someone that I trust, someonethat I understand has gone
through this process, andsomeone who can make a better
outcome by designing the builtvolume around them with meaning

(40:05):
and character.
I know there's there's a thoughtprocess to this, and it's it's
not as simple as like 2Ddrawings.
Like plan is a terrible way todraw a house, like in floor
plan.
Because you're not experiencingspace, you're not thinking about
3D volume, you should bethinking in section the whole
time.
I speak a different language asan architect, as a designer,

(40:26):
that like a lot of other peopledo, like, and reading drawings
is one small piece of that.
But you know, if if you'rehiring somebody who's gone to
school for this and cares deeplyabout this, but it's finding the
right architect, right?
I've I've told you this before,we've talked about this before.
Like, I don't want a heartsurgeon working on my brain, and
vice versa.

SPEAKER_00 (40:44):
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 (40:45):
There are architects who specialize in certain
things.
Our team here happens to focusin unique construction types and
housing solutions.
That's our thing, right?
Like, I wouldn't necessarilycome to Three Squared Inc.
and ask us to design uh ahospital tower, right?
Like, there are firms thatspecialize in that and do
specifically that, so that iswhy I would hire an architect.

(41:08):
Hopefully, that touched on someof your question.

SPEAKER_00 (41:11):
No, that pretty much answered the whole question.

SPEAKER_01 (41:13):
So, anyways, we talked about why I personally,
as an architect, think you needan architect, but it hey, I'm
I'm biased, and that's why Ihave a career.
But, anyways, back to the landbank thing.
Okay, so the next thing peopleneed to know about the land
bank, you thought we were done.
Ha! Yeah, no, no, no, no, no.
All right, so the next thing youneed to know about the land bank

(41:35):
is that they don't just maketheir money off of the purchase
of the properties, they alsocollect money through your
taxes.
So at this point in the stage,you've probably either heard or
you will hear 550 thrown around.
550.
That stands for five years,they're going to capture 50% of

(41:55):
your taxes.
That's part of your purchaseagreement.
That's what you're gonna buy.
You know, and so we're helping,we're helping the land bank.
That's a good thing, right,Detroit?
Ugh.
Okay.
So we're gonna do the 550 taxcapture.
Um, however, I got this thingcalled the neighborhood
enterprise zone that I'm tryingto get into, right?
I've made my case to Lansing ofwhy I should be approved to

(42:17):
this.
Uh, I applied to city council.
There's there's a whole like youjust Google it and it'll tell
you the sheets to fill out inorder to go through that, right?
But okay, um, well, uh, in inorder to allow me into the
neighborhood enterprise zone,Land Bank says, Hey, remember
that 50% of that first fiveyears were the taxes you were
gonna give us?

(42:38):
We want the full amount, not theamount that you would pay after
your 75% tax break.
Wow.
So you're gonna work with theDetroit Economic Growth
Corporation.
More acronyms for you if yourhead's not already spinning.
The DEGC.
The DEGC is going to calculateout what your 550 tax capture

(42:59):
would approximately be.
And then you're gonna negotiatewith the land bank once again on
paper, and you're going to cutthem a check that will allow you
to say, All right, I've I've metmy requirements of your tax
capture.
Now, can you fully let me go sothat I can get into the NEZ once
I'm into the NEZ, then I'm goingto work with my architects and

(43:21):
engineers.
At this point, why do I have tohire them?
Because you need those drawingsin order to get through the city
approval process, they do haveto be stamped and sealed by a
licensed professional.
Oh, but houses over under 3,000square feet don't need it.
Uh, yeah, okay, sometimes maybenot in the city of Detroit and
not on a land bank parcel, I'lltell you that much.
So at this point, you will haveto hire an architect uh to at

(43:44):
least seal the drawings ifyou've made them yourself.
Not recommended, but it's it'skind of like representing
yourself as your own, you know,defense attorney.
It's just like like most peopleare like, that's not that's not
a good idea.
Yeah, yeah.
If you're like, I don't need aAn architect, it's like that's
it.
I'm like, okay, good luck, goodluck.
Like I don't know if I'll seeyou again, but uh okay.

(44:12):
So now I have hired myarchitects, we've got the
drawings, we've got theengineering.
I gotta submit these to now.
B seed.
B seed is the boss, and that'sbuilding safety and engineering.
So they're the ones who actuallyreview your plans.
So they're looking at um, youknow, everything from your your

(44:32):
fire requirements, um,structural, electrical,
mechanical.
Uh um, and then separate tothat, but on the same timeline,
when I submit to B seed for mybuilding permit, I'm also going
to be submitting to DetroitWater and Sewer, um, and that is
the DWSD department.

(44:53):
Yeah, the DWSD, it's worse thanthey say.
I'll leave it at that.

SPEAKER_00 (44:57):
Yeah.
Um, well, what happened?
Remember, because there was abig development over here in
North Corktown where they builta lot of nice looking different
types of modular homes, but theydidn't contact DTE, and the land
sat there for a long time withno electricity, so they couldn't
purchase the homes.

SPEAKER_01 (45:17):
Oh, you want electricity too?
Oh, that's different.
Now you got to call DTE and yougot to get on their radar
because they're probably out uhsix months, maybe a year.
I don't know.
It depends.
Depends on what mood they're inon the day that you call them.
Uh, but they are they're yourboss.
Like you don't you don't get anoption, you don't get to go
anywhere else.

(45:38):
Oh, you'd like to go off thegrid with solar panels?
Good for you.
DTE's lobbying against you andLansing, and they won't allow
you to.
So, all right, we we have todeal with the the the power grid
here.
So, yes, that's a good point.
Once I'm in control of myproperty, add that to my
batteries not included.
Somebody's got to call Miss Dig.
Somebody's got to know what'sunder the ground and flag all

(45:59):
those resources.
I need to know where my gas linecomes from.
I need to know where my sewerline goes, I need to know where
my water line comes from.
Most properties in Detroit aregonna have their water lines in
the street and their sewer linein the alleyway.
That's how most of the grid wasdeveloped.
Um, so that's a safe assumption.
But the Detroit Water and SewerDepartment are gonna have those

(46:21):
documents and be able to provideyou some of that information.
You have to work with them toget your other permits.
You need two building permits inthe city of Detroit.
One is with B Seed, the otherone is with the water and sewer
department.
And I am sorry to be the one totell you our permit fees for the
right-of-way permits in the cityof Detroit for both your water

(46:42):
and your sewer taps are high.
Like stupid high.
Like, like I I think I think Ipaid 18 for my sewer and 16,000
for my water tap, which meansthat I'm like 32 and 34 and
before I even like start puttinga shovel in the ground.

(47:05):
And they and these are justmatter-of-fact fees, these are
not fees you can argue with.
This is just what it costs toget the permit to do the work.
So there are some there's someadditional fees within the city
of Detroit process that are notare not typical.
Like, you know, your fees inlike a rural zone would probably
be like 5,000 is a goodassumption for your water and

(47:26):
sewer fees.
Um, this is this is not that.
And again, infrastructure, backto the whole conversation.
That's where that comes from.
So okay, well, now you're ready.
You're ready to go.
You got B seed approval, you'vegot DWSD approval, start
construction.
Bank is flowing, you figured outyour draw schedule, your

(47:48):
contractor signed their swornstatement, which is basically
their budget, but it's theirbudget along with the
information of who's gettingpaid and how much they're
getting paid when.
That's what it that's what thatthat sworn statement is.
That's what approves the bankdraws.
Bank draws go, everything getsbuilt, it's coming up throughout
that process.
You're gonna have a number ofstages where you're gonna check

(48:08):
in with the land bank, a coupleof photos, field report.
Hey, here's where we're out ofthe progress.
If you're running behindschedule, give them a heads up.
Yeah, heads up.
Hey, I'm running behindschedule, but here's exactly
why, here's what happened.
As long as they've gotdocumentation of it, you're
gonna be all right.
Again, they're not here to youknow stop you from doing this,
but transparency is key.
Transparency and your end iskey.

(48:30):
Uh, I wish that they could saythe same, but again, good
intentions gone wrong.
It's a hope for the best.
You do your part so that ifanything ever goes wonky, he can
always point back to it and say,I upheld my end of the deal, and
that's important, right?
Because by this point in theprocess, if you do get into it
with somebody, you're arguingover I've got foundations in the

(48:51):
ground.
This is no longer hypothetical,this is no longer land that I'm
mowing, you know, from the otherweek.
This is like, hey, we are we arearguing about my investment in
this property, and this is realto me.
I have blood, sweat, and tearson this property.
Like, you have some weight, likepeople are paying attention now
at this point in the game.
I would say you're largely safe,but you need to execute, and you
need to execute all the wayuntil all of your inspectors

(49:14):
have done their fieldinspections, signed off on all
of your approvals, and themagical day has now come.
You have received yourcertificate of occupancy, which
now the land bank has hasfizzled away, and it is now your
property, and you havesuccessfully built on DLBA
property.

(49:35):
Now, here's where it gets fun.
You've done it.
Land bank likes you.
Land bank knows you can develop,you can circumvent most of those
steps from here on out, and youcan start direct conversations
because now you're you're in forlack of a better term.
You understand this.
And yeah, once you own propertyback to, I think probably the
first question we started today.

(49:56):
Now you can buy adjacent lots.
You've developed a property andyou own it entirely through the
land bank, and now you can buytheir adjacent parcels.
Guess what?
Those adjacent parcel agreementsdo not come with the first right
of lien strings attached.
Oh wow, it's please please youjust buy them outright.
Now, I I don't the prices arealways fluctuating.

(50:17):
It was like a hundred dollars alot for a long time.
It was a thousand dollars a lot,and then they open it up to the
neighborhood, and then you knowthat it's gone through different
phases over time.
I'm not sure where they're atright now.
I do know that if you own landbank property, yeah, land bank
right next to you, you can havea conversation with them about
that.
And you probably have like youknow, first rate of refusal or
whatever equivalent to uh to youknow to to acquire that

(50:40):
property, and they'll ask youfor some additional steps, but
that that becomes yours, and youcan choose to develop on it, you
could choose to fence it in andsit on it for a few years.
Yeah, you can plant an appleorchard, but I I believe that
that is yours, so that is agreat strategy um from this
point forward.
So and that in a nutshell iswhat it takes to develop on uh

(51:03):
on a plot of of raw DLBAproperty in the city of Detroit.
Now you can start to understandwhy when people come to me out
the gate and they're like, Iwant to develop in Detroit, I
say go go look for a for-sale byowner lot that's in a
neighborhood enterprise zone.
That's where I would startpersonally, um, having gone
through that process.
Now, there's a lot of good landbank property, there's a lot of

(51:26):
good strategic locations forthese.
Um, but I uh you know I've kindof tried to explain the process
to you coming and asking thesequestions, uh, boots on the
ground, real people that aretrying to figure out how to
accomplish this.
Yeah, there's not much of aroadmap for you out there.
Uh, I think that what we aregenerating right now in this
conversation is probably theclosest anybody's gonna get to a

(51:47):
roadmap of how to build on aDLBA parcel.
Because somebody else mightwrite it for you, but uh they
probably didn't do it, and I diddo it.
You did it, and I'm an architectwho did it, and if I had a hard
time doing it and it took yearsof effort and negotiations,
yeah, how do they expect regularpeople to come in and do this?

(52:09):
So back to why would I hire anarchitect?
Yeah.
You tell me, okay.
All right.
So I'm thinking that's yeah, youget you got you got one more.

SPEAKER_00 (52:18):
Yeah, yeah, one more.
Um, so because of course, 21years in the military, um, and I
pretty much, you know, I cateredum trying to help out veterans
with their benefits, there is awhat they consider uh I consider
it the best loan in the world.
Um because if you want to do newconstruction with land bank,
people need to understand,especially or what from a

(52:40):
veteran perspective, especiallyif you're a hundred percent
disabled veteran, you don't payproperty taxes here in Detroit
on your primary residence.
Now, with uh um purchase of yourone-time construction loan, you
can build up to a four-plex,right?
So you can build up to afour-plex, you can live in one
and you can rent out the otherthree units.

(53:02):
But people have to understand,and I've ran into this last
week, that you only get uh theproperty uh exclusion for the
primary unit, not the otherunits.
So you will be paying propertytaxes on the other three units.
Most of the time they will haveseparate meters.
So that will be different, youknow, uh uh bills that are
coming in.
So that's very important.

(53:23):
Veterans, um the beautiful thingabout the the VA loan is no
money down, no PMI.
Um, and then you will be youwill have to pay taxes on that
property until you get thatkeyword certificate of
occupancy.
And once you get thatcertificate of occupancy, then
your tax break kicks in.

(53:44):
You have to go down to the cityand you have to put your
paperwork in that hey, um thisis my primary residence.
So um the one-time constructionum loan is very, very important
to veterans here, um, especiallyif you're 100%, if you don't
have to be a hundred percent,it's just a uh if you are a
hundred percent disabledveteran, then it's just a break
for you.
I just wanted to touch on thatfor the audience because um if

(54:07):
you're gonna do or purchase landbank and then you're gonna
actually build new constructionand you're a veteran, please
contact us here at Three Square.
Please let, you know, so I canbe your liaison and walk you
through that process because itcan be kind of daunting.
So but it is a great loan.
Um you can um go to the landbank, all the processes that we

(54:30):
discussed today, you can stillpurchase the land and you'll
just put that in with your thepurchase of your new
construction loan.
So you'll just add the land intothe the uh bill of the new
construction.
So I just wanted to touch onthat real quick for my veterans
out there.
Um this is the greatest loan inthe world.
You can do it here in Detroit,no property tax for um uh for

(54:51):
100% disabled veterans, and youcan build up to a four or
fourplex.
But if you wanted to build a uhsingle family duplex, triplex,
whatever the case may be, we dohere offer build already plans
that um you can come andpurchase from her us here at
Three Square.
Um and then you can take that toum to get approved by the city.

(55:13):
We have a relationship with thecity um so they know the work
through that we have provenperformance.
And I want to throw in that weare uh award-winning
architectural fund and built thefirst container home here in
Detroit, uh located right hereon Tramwell and Pine where I'm
sitting at right now.
So, you know, Brick, you're thesubject matter expert, man.
Um you your your brain operateson overdrive with all the things

(55:37):
that you have going on.
I just thank you for having meon here and letting me sit here
and uh partner with you toeducate the people of Detroit
about this land bank because itcan be daunting, it can be
confusing.
But if you have someone likeyourself who has been through
the process and through the upsand the downs, a lot of downs,
but you always you came up.
Um you have you built anaward-winning home and um proud

(56:01):
of you.
I was there from the time it wastrees on the land to to the
point to where you're sitting inyour home right now.
Um, kudos to you, man.
Thank you for uh having me andall the the knowledge that you
share um with us um here for thecity and this land bank.
Like you said, there's not goingto be a more in-depth um
conversation about this and stepby step.

(56:22):
Thank you so much, bro.

SPEAKER_01 (56:24):
Uh thank you, Deshaun.
It takes a village, as we know.
It's a complicated process, anduh these buildings are the
product of an army, man.
Everybody's everybody's involvedin this, and uh, I had the
support of a great team here.
Well, this has been uh this hasbeen our first installment of
Duke It Out with Deshaun Wilson.
Uh we really got into it there.
That was a doozy.

(56:44):
Uh hopefully we could chop upsome bits of this, but uh we'll
see you next time in theInnovative Real Estate Podcast.
I'm Brett Crandall.
That's Deshaun.
Thank you for joining us today.
We'll see you guys later.
See you later.
Peace.