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Comment by fiatmoney | Hacker News Reader

It's only possible to have a "mystery bidder" because real estate is exempt from money laundering regulations.

I'd bet 2:1 it's shadily acquired money from overseas looking to be stashed out of the reach of local anti-corruption agencies.

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You also need to sink another ~$24 million into the property to demolish the houses, and if you don't make sufficient progress it will be repossessed. That's gonna be a bunch of jobs, so I'm not sure Detroit would care.

I also would think that you would probably want to have more liquid property, or at least something that might possibly generate some marginal income.

It can't be "repossessed" if you own it. (And it wouldn't be repossessed anyway since the bank probably doesn't want it back :p)

It can be seized (or a lien placed) by the city or state for not paying property taxes, or fines from lack of upkeep.

If you don't pay property taxes on a house you own outright, the local govt can and does seize it. Repossessed isn't the right word but in the end, it would be resold and the gov't would make more money from it as well as new annual cycles of taxes. If you buy property and squander it or not keep it up to zoning regulations you can also lose property you own to the local govt. It's not repossessed by a bank, it would be more like a land seizure.

From talking to people who live in Detroit, most of these city auctions come with the stipulation that you have to get the house up to code or demolish it within 6 months, otherwise the property will be repossessed.

It's likely billionaire Dan Gilbert...

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