Left for dead in the 1970s, lending through (often predatory) land contracts is back with a vengeance in Michigan and Rust Belt cities after the mortgage meltdown.
Joel Kurth
As Executive Editor of Impact, Joel oversees news gathering, reporters, enterprise and investigative coverage as well as collaborations, impact and editorial strategy. He joined Bridge in 2017 after 17 years as an editor and investigative reporter at The Detroit News. He has worked in Michigan media for 30 years, including stints in Saginaw and the Upper Peninsula, winning more than 50 state and national awards. He lives in West Bloomfield with his wife, two children and dog, Red. You can reach him at jkurth@bridgemi.com.
Posted inUrban Affairs
Detroit cites progress, but water shutoffs actually rose last year
Residential shutoffs spiked 18 percent in 2016 – countering city officials’ expectations. A staggering 83,000 homes have lost water service at some point since the city launched a crackdown on delinquent accounts in 2014.
Posted inUrban Affairs
Interactive Map: Detroit water shutoffs by neighborhood
Go block by block to scan the more than 27,000 homes that had water cut off in 2016.
Posted inUrban Affairs
Are Detroit water shutoffs and illnesses related?
“A significant difference in diagnoses” of skin or gastrointestinal infection was found in residents who lived on blocks with water shutoffs. But researchers acknowledge there’s not yet enough data to prove a link.
Posted inUrban Affairs
That Detroit rarity: a home mortgage
Can you call it a comeback if mortgages are only written in a few communities? Several years into a downtown recovery, neighborhood mortgage lending remains “pathetic.”