Much talk centered around political factors at the recent Detroit Mastermind Group Meeting. Maddin Hauser Associate, Kevin Henry shared that one of their clients lost a tenant on acquisition of a property when recent tariffs took a hit on their business. The tenant deals in cell phones and technology and decided to move to Canada rather than renew their lease, so the political environment does have some impact on business here.

Several of Maddin Hauser members chimed in about the enormous drain-off assessment charges being leveled on commercial real estate owners in Highland Park and Detroit. Drain-off assessments in Detroit comes in on your water bill. The city calculates impervious surface, and from that math, they calculate a charge per square foot to process rainwater runoff and the numbers are astronomical. Steve Sallen shared that they have a client with an industrial property in Highland Park that received a $1 million drain-off assessment.

Further discussion revealed that the drain-off charges accrue monthly at a rate of $750 per month per acre and the charges are lienable, like your water bill, and that the city of Highland Park is looking to tack it onto the tax bill if it is not paid. Then they plan to take action to collect.