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Mother of six trades in $96k house for used minivan

By Eric Pfeiffer | The Sideshow – Mon, Dec 5, 2011

(LaWanda Flake/Detroit News)

A mother living in Detroit has traded in her four-bedroom home for a 2006 minivan.

LaWanda Flake, a 36-year-old, disabled mother of six traded in her four-bedroom, three-bath house, located in one of the city's better neighborhoods and valued at $96,000 for a 2006 Chevrolet Uplander with 85,000 miles, valued at between $5000 and $8,500.

"I had a lot of good offers, some from out of state. It turned out I took one of the first offers I got because I felt like it helped us both," Flake told the Detroit News. "They needed the house more than anyone I spoke with. They kept telling me it was a blessing to them. I really feel like I made a good decision."

Flake said she posted the house offer on Craigslist because she needed a new car in order to get her children to school on time because the city's bus system was proving unreliable. Flake has an irregularly updated Twitter account, where you can see some of her complaints about the bus system.

Now, there are a couple of details that make this story far less crazy than it sounds at first. Number one, Flake and her six children are not living in the minivan. They've relocated to a three-bedroom home nearby that she was able to purchase on a $4,000 land contract.

And even though the house was once home to Diana Ross and the Supremes, Flake purchased it last year at a foreclosure sale for $3,600, not its near six-figure retail value. The house reportedly has several thousand dollars worth of necessary repairs waiting for the new owners, including a new furnace and water heater.

A $96k home traded for minivan with $85k miles

The family who purchased Flake's home has decided to stay anonymous for now. Flake agreed to not mention their names in the story, but she did note that she received several more lucrative offers for her home, including a Montana couple who offered Flake her choice of one of their four vehicles. And a man who recently moved back to Detroit from Las Vegas offered in trade his 1996 Bentley Brooklands luxury sedan, valued at about $20,000. A third trade offer was for a 1996 Corvette.

"I said, Oh wow! What am I going to do with a Corvette? I can't do anything practical with a Corvette," Flake said.

Of course, with the current state of property values in Detroit, it sounds like Flake could have traded in one of those cars for another two or three houses.

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Top Locations Midland

4,776 comments

class-Amy Rollergirl • Midland, Texas • 2 mths ago
Yea it sounds like she was more interested in making sure the home went to people who needed it most rather than making money... Is that such a foreign concept? Good for her.
Ashten • Lenexa, Kansas • 2 mths ago
The Bentley is actually valued at $56,000 by the blue book !
Doug S • Annapolis, United States • 5 mths ago
A minivan may be worth more than a house in Detroit. With a minivan, you can leave Detroit.
- K 5 mths ago
  Good one, Doug!
- Zoey 5 mths ago
  Yeah. but she has another house. Apparently, she didn't want to move. D:
- Erica 5 mths ago
  Or maybe, being a single mother of 6, she realized that she could make a good financial transaction, yet still didn't have enough money to afford a house elsewhere. So she bought a house that cost her what a very used car would cost. Then got a van to boot.
  You know, if you think about it, that's genius.
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Reply
Son • Houston, United States • 5 mths ago
meanwhile..a couple in Seattle is living in a 1.2 million dollar home using food stamps and government assistance.
- Mark 5 mths ago
  Related to Obama?
- White minority 5 mths ago
  yeah a white couple too go figure
- HelpUsAll 5 mths ago
  Figure it true. Them suckas are the worst.
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Reply
Captain Spaulding • Hawley, United States • 5 mths ago
1ST time in American history that houses depreciated more than vehicles.
- Lesley 5 mths ago
  SCARY!
- Top of the food chain 5 mths ago
  That's because so many people were able to get mortgages due to Clinton that the prices severely over-inflated. Now we are gong through the "correction." However, the gov't is propping up the values still which, raising values, is extending the problem.
- Christiantruth 5 mths ago
  That's because of Ronald Reagan deregulating the housing market , oh yea and he raised taxes 7 times which is the record for any USA president.
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Reply
J • 5 mths ago
"They've relocated to a three-bedroom home nearby that she was able to purchase on a $4,000 land contract."

What is a "land contract," and how can I get one??? So tired of paying my landlord's $1k/mo. mortgage.
- Paradux 5 mths ago
  Your Landlords mortgage is probably $450, a month and he charges you $1K. That keeps him ahead of the game in case of repairs on the house that he is responsible for. When you look too sign a lease, negotiate, just as if you are buying it. Real estate right now is so cheap, look around, you will find something just as nice, or better for less.
- Truth Hurts 5 mths ago
  First you have to live somewhere like Detroit, where there is a huge surplus of foreclosed homes. Then you just start going through them and going to foreclosure auctions.
- Al 5 mths ago
  A land contract is just a deal between the buyer and the seller with no mortgage. The buyer makes payments directly to the seller. I sold my first house with a land contract.
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BarryB • Fort Meade, United States • 5 mths ago
Wow I guess bartering is back.
- hayley 5 mths ago
  I love bartering.
- BOOHOO 5 mths ago
  That's what it is coming down to with no work . I trade stuff for other things i need . I have no job .
- Linda 5 mths ago
  Barter is back in a big way. My husband gets most of the stuff he wants by trading stuff he doesn't use. I have a friend who bartered accounting services in exchange for her insurance premiums. Win/win. When the money is gone, you barter. It's the next wave.
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Reply
it's past the point • 5 mths ago
Did you folks even read the article? She bought the place for peanuts...she's not out anything, and it sounds like she helped someone out. When you can turn around and buy another house for 4k...screw it...sounds like the mini van might even hold it's value better than Detroit real estate.
Dave • Fresno, United States • 5 mths ago
A car is worth more than a house in Detroit.
B • Atlanta, United States • 5 mths ago
Where do I get these houses for $3600 and $4000?
Mimi • 5 mths ago
wow! that was actually a wise move..no mortgage or car payment and she also blessed someone else.
Parah Salin. • 5 mths ago
Buy a house for $3,600, turn around, trade it for a $8,500 van.$4,900 profit. Spend $4000 on a new home. $900 profit, and now has a van to take her kids to school#$%$ that's a smart woman! (and she didn't abuse welfare or anything like that)
Carla • Montreal, Canada • 5 mths ago
i say as long as she's satisfied
citizen • 5 mths ago
It makes perfect sense. She got what she needed not what the rest of the world thought she should have have gotten. There are people in this world that are not ruled by greed. And they are truly the good ones....
Joe • Irvine, United States • 5 mths ago
I think people comment without reading the story
BRANDI • Flint, United States • 5 mths ago
wow, people can't read! I think she did the right thing. she traded a broke house, that didn't cost her crap anyways, for a vehicle that runs so she can get her kids to school and a house with heat and water. hmmmm..............whats wrong with that? and what does her disability have to do with anything?
Peter • Mayaguez, Puerto Rico • 5 mths ago
As long the lady is happy and knows what she's doing, she must be good at maths and when is the right time to strike! I'd love to have such experience....doh!
Mas • 5 mths ago
you people need to lighten up!

she bought another large house down the street for $4k and got a nice uplander!
seems like she's doing ok to me!

no bank is going to give her a dime for an equity loan for a detroit house- and who's gonna buy her house for even $30k when there's houses all over the place selling for under $10k!!!

think about it!

you people are the idiots- not her!!!
A Yahoo! User • Jackson, United States • 5 mths ago
people fail to understand that the house market in Detroit is dead, i know people who bought houses for 2000 to 5000. i know it is crazy, but this is Detroit.
Micah S • 5 mths ago
Gotta love Craigslist.

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