A few Michigan residents thought they might be able to score a deal when the state auctioned off a few hundred houses that had gone into foreclosure. All they had to do is pay the back taxes owed on the homes. UNTIL! Dundundun... Mr. Millionaire Bill McMachen snapped up 650 homes for a mere $4.5 million. SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY HOUSES. Like he was picking up beer from Costco.
So that would probably tick off the other buyers, don't you think? Here they were, with their mere thousands, ready to pick up a deal and make a home-owning dream come true (or at least a flipper's dream come true). And then in come Mr. Moneybags and spoils the whole thing! Who is this guy, anyway?
See, I was thinking it would be really cool if after the jump I could tell you that he's running a charity and he's donating all the homes. Or at least that he's really hot. But nope, he's just this guy who owns a yacht business and also owns his own harbor.
And he may donate the houses to charity -- but only if he can't sell them, first. He's hoping to make a couple million off the deal. Cha-ching!
It's like a game of Monopoly gone wrong. The kind where you're playing with your friends, and then along comes this rich kid from the big house on the hill, and he's got all this extra Monopoly money. And he just goes and buys everything on the board and spoils the game for everyone. Durr, that guy! He makes me want to throw some little plastic green and red houses.
And as far as the state of Michigan is concerned, they couldn't care less if it's fair or not. County Treasurer Ted Wahby knows people like McMachen are just buying the homes to make money on them, but who cares. "I have a job to do. I have to collect the taxes, and that's what we did." McMachen just made Ted's job a whole lot easier.
Would you buy 650 homes for $4.5 million if you could?
Image via myfoxdetroit.com
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Comments 27
Noooo, It's monopoly done right. You dont win that game very often do ya?
You sound like a bitter communist. The guy is trying to make money and boost his businesses so he can HIRE PEOPLE and pay off his costs to his employees don't lose their jobs. Also, this is great for local contractors, since I'm sure the guy will hire many of them to work on the houses and get them in order. Why don't you think about the situation before you go spouting your "this isn't fair!' nonsense? Grow up.
Who the eff told you life was "fair" !?!? It's his money, he can set it on fire and dance around naked if he wants.. He made a smart business move.. Sucks to be the other people, but hey, there will be other homes.
This whole "Everyone is a winner" Self-entitlement bullcrap in this country really REALLY needs to stop. The shit is old already. You want nice things... Work hard and save up.. End of story.
Yes, because lets see, people who could own a home, perhaps out right, which would probably get at least SOME of them off public assistance, and above the hand to mouth, pay check to pay check life they've been living, don't deserve the opportunity because someone rich decides they want to "profit" more than they want to give the little guy a chance, and he MIGHT use the profits to make jobs. You all make me sick. The RICH DO NOT MAKE JOBS! Middle Class Consumerism does! And guess what, the people who would have bought those houses, and spent money on Renovations and fixing them up, they're not going to, and this guys CERTAINLY not going to put as much back into it as they would have. The money spent per house just went down because he's going to use every connectionBut go ahead, resources are finite, and as more and more evaporate up into the hands of the rich (Through moves like this and profiteering) eventually you'll see the light. There are things more important than money, like integrity and doing the right thing. There is a point where enough is enough, and why the hell does he need anymore money if he's that rich? Its another form of consumerism, the bad kind, to keep gorging and gorging at the trough and leave nothing for anyone else. But I doubt any of you believe that.
don't deserve the opportunity
Because they exist? I was ON welfare 10 years ago....you know WHAT?! WE worked HARD, did without a LOT (including cell phones, two cars, and cable) and now we are OFF it and own our home. We DESERVED and we GOT it. Are you saying that once you have money you don't DESERVE anything anymore? This man will HIRE middle class consumers to fix these house and sell these houses. He had the means and the opportunity. So I guess if this is on a smaller scale......say a really great sale at Walmart and you have the funds to cover the only 3 remaining IT toys and three kids that want them you would just leave the other two right? Even if it was a FANTASTIC deal? Yeah sure. There might be someone more broke than YOU that needed/wanted those toys and you snatched them up. This happens EVERY day ALL the time. Hell I went to office max a few months back they had packages of sharpies on clearance for a dollar a pack! I bought all 5 packs that were left! Kept a few packs for us (homeschool) and shared a few with fellow homeschoolers. Right place, right time, right funds. Everyone deserves good things......but that is not a promise. Quit trying to vilify this man and work a little harder and get there yourself!
well it might not be exactly right or fair, but he had the money and obviously knows how to save it then wisely invest it. if the house goes into foreclosure again, it's the banks problem and he can snatch it up again. it sounds like a merry-go-round to me - though probably not one for the average family.
I'd imagine the people who lost the homes are probably furious but stuff happens. I know that, they know that, but that doesn't mean you like it.
hahahahahahahaha thanks truthrowan, i needed a good laugh. Can i come live in your disney fairytale land with you? As far as i'm concerned, if he can buy the houses outright, and has the money to actually pay the seller, that's fair. He can do whatever he likes with them. And as others have pointed out, that'll probably require hiring people to do some work on them to get them into a re-sellable condition.
Life is not fair. Didn't you learn that yet truthrowan? You need to take a few deep breaths!