Core City Homes

The Property

• Core City Homes is a 45 scattered-site single-family homes located in Detroit, Michigan's 48208 zip code, comprising 28 four-bedroom and 17 three-bedroom residences across a concentrated cluster of streets including 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and W Forest Avenue. The portfolio represents a rare opportunity to acquire significant residential density in a single transaction, a scale that is difficult to replicate in Detroit's fragmented single-family market, with a clear value-add path through renovation and stabilization, or the ability to sell the homes individually.

General

• The properties were built in 2005. Each property has an unfinished basement with HVAC, a hot water tank, and an AC unit. The properties also come with a washer and dryer, in the home. Tenants are responsible for all utilities and yard maintenance. The landlord is responsible for property taxes, insurance and general maintenance.

Rental Portfolio

• The portfolio currently generates $749,580 in gross potential rent and $651,639 in effective gross income after an approximately 14% vacancy factor, producing a net operating income of $377,642. Under a fully stabilized, 80% Max AMI rent scenario (in order to get the PILOT Tax), effective gross income increases to $1,040,000 with a corresponding NOI of $657,000. Notably, current real estate taxes of $125,033 drop to $57,040 under the Max AMI scenario, suggesting meaningful tax abatement potential tied to affordable housing compliance that a buyer should underwrite and pursue aggressively.
• Core City Homes is positioned to benefit from Detroit's Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program, which replaces traditional ad valorem property taxes with a flat percentage of rental income. By targeting 80% AMI affordability across the portfolio, the property qualifies for a 4% PILOT rate — reducing annual property taxes from $94,262 to $26,076, a savings of $68,186 per year ($1,705 per door). Unlike conventional property taxes, which scale with assessed value and create unpredictable operating expenses, PILOT payments are tied directly to rental income, giving investors a stable, income-linked tax obligation that grows only as revenue grows. Critically, the 80% AMI rent caps for Wayne County — approximately $1,819 for 3-bedroom and $2,020 for 4-bedroom units — are above where the portfolio is currently renting, meaning PILOT compliance does not require any rent reduction. The current 3-bedroom average is $1,395 and 4-bedroom average is $1,344, leaving meaningful room to grow rents.

Individual Sales

• The Detroit 48208 market currently reflects an average home value of approximately $131,000, with fully rehabbed homes at the upper tier of the market trading in the $175,000–$210,000 range for four-bedroom product and $155,000–$175,000 for three-bedroom product. This creates meaningful optionality for a buyer: the portfolio can be held as a stabilized rental operation generating $657,000+ in NOI at scale, or individual homes can be sold off as renovations are completed — with fully rehabbed four-bedroom homes supporting individual sale prices of $175,000–$210,000 and three-bedrooms at $155,000–$175,000, implying a gross sellout value approaching $8M+ across the portfolio. Either path is viable, and the scattered-site nature of the portfolio gives a buyer flexibility to pursue both strategies simultaneously.

Core City

• The MLK Homes portfolio is situated in Core City, a roughly four-square-mile neighborhood on Detroit's near west side that has emerged as one of the city's most actively reinvesting residential communities. Historically an industrial and working-class corridor, Core City has seen over $1.6 million in new private investment and more than 140 newly renovated homes in recent years, supported by ongoing infrastructure improvements from the Detroit Land Bank Authority and targeted infill development initiatives. The neighborhood's density of single-family homes, tree-lined streets, and access to major corridors including Michigan Avenue position it as a logical recipient of the investment spillover occurring in adjacent areas — offering investors an opportunity to acquire at a basis well below surrounding neighborhoods while broader market forces continue to compress that discount.

Corktown

• The most significant of those forces is Corktown, Detroit's oldest neighborhood and the epicenter of the city's most consequential private investment in decades. Ford Motor Company's $950 million restoration of Michigan Central Station has transformed the 30-acre campus into a mobility innovation district expected to bring approximately 5,000 jobs to the area, including 2,500 Ford employees alongside startup founders, tech partners, and academic researchers. High-profile tenants including Google have already established a presence, and the economic spillover is actively reshaping commercial corridors along Michigan Avenue and Vernor Highway — both of which connect directly to the Core City market. Residential values in Corktown have more than doubled since 2018, with renovated homes now regularly trading above $500,000, and the expansion of the Joe Louis Greenway will physically link Corktown to Core City and dozens of surrounding neighborhoods. For an investor acquiring the MLK Homes