See how a homeless Detroit man turned a $1,500 house into his dream home over a decade of painstaking work
Jordan Pandy
- Michael Gray bought an abandoned home in Detroit from his nephew for $1,500 in 2009.
- He's spent over a decade renovating it himself from flooring, to drywalling, to painting.
Michael Gray has spent more than 10 years turning a derelict house in Detroit into a cozy home for him and his family.
In November 2009, Gray, who's now 70, purchased an abandoned home from his nephew for only $1,500. After years of renovations, he's transformed it into a dream home for his wife, Cynthia.
"It was all built with love," he told Insider.
Before purchasing the home, Gray was homeless and living in his niece's basement. Despite having a degree from Spring Arbor University, Gray struggled to find work due to Detroit's tough economy.
"I wasn't able to get a job because I had worked in drug treatment," he said. "But the city went bankrupt and the only way I would've been able to get another job would've been to move to Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York to make that type of money. And I wasn't going to do that."
Gray told Insider that he was hit by a car while riding his bike in 2008, and the settlement money helped him buy the property. When he bought the house, it was uninhabitable and had mites, spiders, and mice.
Gray has framed before pictures in every room to remind himself of how far he's come in his renovation. The house is now unrecognizable, and he sees it as a "generational home."
"After I'm dead and gone, this will be a generational house for our family members to always have a home to come to," he said.
Gray's most recent renovation has been his basement, and he anticipates the house being done no later than 2024. He spoke with Insider and walked through the restoration process.
In 2009, Gray bought the house from his nephew Sylvester McIntosh for $1,500.
At the time, McIntosh was a broker for commercial real-estate agency Global Property Investment Group.
The house is in Detroit, right outside the University District. It's about one mile from the University of Detroit Mercy.
In 2008 while riding his bike, Gray was hit by a car. He used some of the settlement money to purchase the home.
Before buying the property, Gray was living in his niece's basement.
The house was infested with mites, spiders, and mice when he first moved in.
A lot of basic amenities, like the bathroom, were not functioning properly. "The plumbing wasn't working. We were not able to use the toilet at all," he said.
The house was in a state of total disrepair when he bought it. Paint was peeling off the walls, wires were hanging loose, and the kitchen appliances were covered in rust.
Since beginning his renovation journey in 2010, he's made a number of improvements to the main level and the upstairs — including this impressive kitchen remodel.
The interior of the house looks unrecognizable. Gray said he's spent around $100,000 on renovations so far.
Since completing most of the upstairs renovations, he decided to tackle the basement in 2017.
After digging up the basement, Gray said they didn't have steps for five years. They used a ladder to go back and forth.
The basement had already been a problem. In 2014, it flooded and it cost Gray at least $15,000 in damaged tools.
Contractors wanted more than $7,000 to lay concrete in the basement. Gray declined and decided to do it himself.
Gray estimates he did about 80% of the work throughout the house himself — and much of that was before, Gray said, COVID boosted the price of labor.
Gray decided to add another full bathroom in the basement.
Enlisting help from some friends, Gray drywalled the basement.
His friends also helped install the shower and toilet.
Gray envisions his home being passed down to future generations, so he wants as much room as possible — which is why he added more living space in the basement, too.
He added a TV as well as a mini fridge hoping family could stay in the basement when visiting.
He also made sure the new bathroom had a shower.
"If we had family come in from out of town, I didn't want to be saddled with one bathroom," he said. "So I made it a full bathroom with a complete shower, toilet, and sink."
Gray, a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, pointed out the intentional artwork hanging in the new bathroom.
Omega Psi Phi members often go by the nickname Que Dogs, so the cheeky artwork is a nod to Gray's past.
Next on Gray's project list is finishing the roof.
"COVID prevented us from doing our exterior roof because lumber prices went through the roof," he said.
Michael and Cynthia Gray celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in November 2019 at the home.
"During this whole time, not one time did she say 'How much longer,'" he said. "She saw the vision I had and we saw it together. We traveled this road together."
Popular Right Now
Popular Keywords
Advertisement