In 2017, Detroit-native Vincent Orr was working as a production supervisor at Chrysler, when he kept seeing and hearing advertisements for The Detroit Land Bank Authority.

The organization, founded in 2008, offers residents of Detroit, Michigan the opportunity to buy vacant, abandoned, or deteriorated houses and land at auction.

Orr submitted a bid and won a three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath house for $2,100. The property had been abandoned for about a decade.

“I wanted to invest my money, so I got up one day and decided to look on the website and saw they had something in my neighborhood for sale,” Orr tells CNBC Make It. “I drove by and decided to bid on it. I never saw the inside, and by 4 p.m. that day, I was the property owner.”

But Orr was in for a rude awakening. When he finally got access to the inside of the house, it had a giant hole in the roof, water damage, and the electrical and plumbing needed replacing. Despite all the repair work that lay ahead, Orr was still excited about purchasing his first home in the neighborhood where he went to high school.

“I thought it had great bones. I liked the architecture, and I was familiar with the neighborhood. I knew the potential of the area and the property,” Orr says. “I was also excited to have a piece of history because the house was built in the 1920s.”

One condition of the winning the auction was that Orr had to renovate the home and make it livable in nine months. He estimates he has spent $40,000 fixing up the house so far and says there is still more to do.

At the end of those nine months, Orr’s mother moved into the home and lived there rent-free.

“Since I was a child, I had been telling her that I was going to buy her a house,” he says. “For her to actually see me carry through was amazing for both of us.”

For Orr, who was 27 at the time, becoming a first-time homeowner and successfully turning the abandoned house into a home was a major accomplishment.

“To be able to own a home that was paid off with no loans, no mortgage and then be able to let my mom live there was a great feeling,” he says.

Just two years after buying the first property, Orr bought the property right next to his mother’s for $1,200 — it had also been abandoned for about a decade.

“I just couldn’t see myself putting all this money in next door and not having it look nice on the other side,” he says.

Orr admits that the condition of this second house was much worse than the first one he bought, but “I really liked the architecture of that one. It reminded me of a gingerbread house,” he says.

“I was excited to get my hands on it and bring it back to life. A lot of people didn’t want to bid on it because it had been in a fire.”

There was no living room floor, and the house had even been on the city’s demolition list before Orr bought it.

After securing the deed from the Detroit Land Bank Authority, Orr got to work. He estimates he’s spent $60,000 renovating it so far.

Orr lived in the house while working on it, which he says was a challenge, especially because it was during the pandemic. He moved out in 2021 and leased it to a family friend. He is also letting them live there rent-free until the renovations are complete.

And as if two properties weren’t enough, Orr bought a third on the north side of his original abandoned home for just $100.

“There was a house on the lot, but it had caught fire, and the city of Detroit ended up tearing it down,” Orr says.

At the time of writing, Orr says he plans to build a new house on the lot and do most of the work himself. He is in the process of becoming a licensed builder, having left his job at Chrysler in 2022 and General Motors in September. In October, he launched his own hardwood and epoxy flooring business.

Orr says he has no plan in place for when he’ll start building the house. He estimates he’ll need $100,000 to $150,000 and does not want to take out a loan.

“I’m just waiting to get the funds in order,” he says.

Orr says his biggest regret is not having bought more properties from the Detroit Land Bank Authority. He estimates the value of his houses has increased since he bought the first one seven years ago.

“I don’t know if it would be possible in today’s climate because Detroit has gained popularity. You have a lot of people moving in and I’m happy to see it, but on the other side, small developers like myself can’t get my hands on anything,” he says.

But the now 34-year-old says he doesn’t ever plan on selling them.

“I believe in ownership, and those homes are part of my retirement plan,” he says. “When I’m too old to work or just want to relax in the later years, I have those properties to rent out and gain income from because I don’t know if we can depend on Social Security.”

And for anyone looking to take advantage of an auction process like the one the Detroit Land Bank Authority offers, Orr’s advice is to not overthink it.

“Don’t waste your time. You’d be surprised if you just get out and try; you can accomplish anything. A lot of people doubt themselves, but if you build it, they will come,” he says.

“I plan on buying more and building more. I want to build apartment buildings and affordable housing.”

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