Just the first (exposed...) of many, folks. Just the first.........Detroit spends $8.7 million to flip 30 homes that bring in $2 million

Detroit spends $8.7 million to flip 30 homes that bring in $2 million | The Detroit News:
"Detroit — City officials spent as much as $537,000 per home renovating 30 houses under a federal program to fight blight only to sell most for less than $100,000 apiece, a Detroit News investigation has found.
The Detroit Land Bank transformed eyesores — some that were rotting and burned — into gleaming gems, with glass-tiled bathrooms, stainless steel appliances, underground sprinkler systems and even $35,000 geothermal heating in a few.
.....Susan Hanafee was shocked to learn from The Detroit News that $430,000 was spent on the three-story Boston Edison home she bought last year for $80,000.
 “It kind of makes me sick,” she said. “It didn’t really need that much rehab. ... It makes me sad to think about the money that was poured into a particular house and ... to know my neighbors are having to scrape enough together to put a new roof on.”
In total, the land bank spent nearly $8.7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on 30 homes. 
That’s an average of $290,000 per home, and the 13 most expensive homes cost $300,000 to $537,000 apiece. 
The return on the investment from sales so far: $2 million. 
 The money was spent under a former director, Aundra Wallace, who left last summer for an economic development job in Florida.
He didn’t return phone calls for comment."