Rocket Community Fund, City Of Detroit Invest $5M To Drive Neighborhood Housing Recovery

In partnership with the City of Detroit, the Rocket Community Fund — the philanthropic arm of Rocket Companies Inc’s RKT Family of Companies — announced a joint $5-million investment Thursday in the Rehabbed & Ready program.

What Happened: In a move to fuel Detroit’s pandemic recovery, empowering financial independence and wellness amongst local communities, the finance leader, along with the City of Detroit and partner Invest Detroit, committed $5 million to the Rehabbed & Ready program.

The Program Details: Through Rehabbed & Ready, the Detroit Land Bank Authority will deliver a targeted response to the artificially low values of Detroit-area properties.

In cooperation with the City of Detroit and Invest Detroit, DLBA will oversee renovations that modernize and make vacant properties move-in ready.

The DLBA plans to tap into and develop local skilled trade talent through a partnership with the Emerging Industries Training Institute.

The $5-million investment, part of Rocket’s $150-million, 10-year commitment to Detroit, will also support DLBA’s new Rehabbed & Ready to Renovate initiative, which addresses structural and mechanical repairs but offers buyers the flexibility to complete renovations on their own.

Homes are listed for sale to homeowner-occupants on the DLBA’s website and MLS.

Why It Matters: The growing Rehabbed & Ready program — a public-private partnership that renovates homes, creates new homeowners, and increases access to financing in neighborhoods that have an appraisal gap — was created alongside the DLBA in 2015.

It is directly influencing the stability and growth of neighborhoods, according to research by the University of Michigan. 

“The Rehabbed & Ready program has made affordable homeownership possible for a lot of Detroiters who may not have been up to the challenge of renovating a vacant Land Bank house themselves,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement. “Scaling up this program will create this opportunity for more residents across all Strategic Neighborhood Fund neighborhoods while reducing blight and stabilizing property values.”