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★ New Monasticism and the Radical cheap: $1,000 homes – Jan. 8, 2009

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The real estate market is so awful that buyers are now scooping up homes for as little as $1,000.

There are 18 listings in Flint, Mich., for under $3,000, according to Realtor.com. There are 22 in Indianapolis, 46 in Cleveland and a whopping 709 in Detroit. All of these communities have been hit hard by foreclosures, and most of these homes are being sold by the lenders that repossessed them.

via Radical cheap: $1,000 homes – Jan. 8, 2009.

So I’ve been thinking lately abut the new monasticism in this time of economic crisis.  Lots of my friends are 1/3 jokingly saying, “well, when the collapse happens, we’ll all learn more about living with multiple families under one roof”.

I’m very interested to know if there are new monastic communities embedding themselves into Detroit, Flint, Cleveland, and other places that are being ravaged by this crisis.  I mean, as the owner of a home with a nearly half-million dollar mortgage (GASP), $1000 just seems otherworldly.  And it is.

Mark 1 of the self-description of many new monastic communities is this: Relocation to the Abandoned Places of Empire.

If you know of Detroit-based new monastic communities who are dealing with their city in radical decay, I’d love to hear their story!  Or if you know of folks who are taking this opportunity to serve in the midst of abandonment, let’s hear about it.

I pray that the Spirit of Christ is stirring folks to move and live among cities that are facing terrible destruction.

4 responses to “★ New Monasticism and the Radical cheap: $1,000 homes – Jan. 8, 2009”

  1. Geektronica Avatar
    Geektronica

    Gotta admit, if I wasn't in grad school, this would be really tempting. Just the liberation of not having a mortgage, yet owning your (collective) home.

    Anyone heard what Tom Sine thinks of this? You could have a zillion Mustard Seed Houses for the price of one at prices like this.

    Eliacin?

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    1. Pat Avatar
      Pat

      Yeah, I'm in a similar spot. As it becomes more and more plausible to do software based work remotely, this becomes feasible. And geez, as cash strapped as I am, I bet I could find a way to come up with the cash to pay for a house outright at these prices, and then do the fixups.

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  2. Chris Smith Avatar
    Chris Smith

    Our church has been taking advantage of this for almost 10 years. Even within Indianapolis, we are located in the ZIP code with the highest rate of abandoned housing. We've bought several houses for $1000 or less, and a bunch for not a whole lot more — and most of this even before the housing bubble burst. We've provided affordable housing for everyone in our church who needed it, and now mostly are helping other neighbors to have affordable housing.

    Most recently we bought the house next to ours for $5000. It's small and in bad shape (e.g., holes in the exterior walls) but still not a bad price… And since people know that we "do housing," there have even been people who have given us houses. The best deals however don't come through the traditional real estate market, but through tax sales and real estate auctions.

    Chris Smith

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  3. i'm cheap Avatar
    i'm cheap

    wow, 1000 dollars for a home? there must be some kind of catch.

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Hello,

I’m Pat

Passionate about the common good, human flourishing, lifelong learning, being a good ancestor.

Things I do: Engineering leadership; Grad Instructor in spirituality, creativity, digital personhood, pilgrimage.

Powerlifter, mountain biker, Gonzaga basketball fan, reader, urban sketcher, hiker.

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