# Detroit Distressed Property & Blight Leads (`permitflow/detroit-distressed-property-leads`) Actor

Detroit blight tickets with unpaid balances, vacant-property registrations, property sales, Land Bank listings and the demolition pipeline, with owners and addresses.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/permitflow/detroit-distressed-property-leads.md
- **Developed by:** [mehdi](https://apify.com/permitflow) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Detroit Distressed Property & Blight Leads (blight tickets, vacant properties, sales)

Pull fresh **Detroit blight tickets with unpaid balances**, **vacant-property registrations**, **recorded property sales**, **Detroit Land Bank listings** and the **city demolition pipeline** as clean, filterable data. Every run reads the City of Detroit's official open-data services, which the city updates daily. No login, no proxies, no scraping of private sites.

Use it to find **motivated sellers in Detroit**, build **distressed-property lead lists**, price deals against **recent sales comps**, and watch the **Land Bank** and **demolition** lists.

### Who it is for

- **Real estate investors, wholesalers and rehabbers** looking for owners with unpaid code-violation fines or newly registered vacant properties.
- **Agents and appraisers** who need recent arm's-length sales by ZIP code or neighborhood.
- **Contractors and boarding, cleanup and demolition companies** targeting properties with active violations.
- **Analysts and journalists** tracking blight enforcement and property transfers across Detroit.
- **AI agents and automations** that need Detroit property data through an API.

### Example inputs

Tickets with at least $500 still unpaid in the last 90 days, for ZIP 48205:

```json
{ "datasets": ["blight"], "daysBack": 90, "zipCodes": ["48205"], "minBalanceDue": 500 }
```

Overgrown-lot and dumping tickets in the last 60 days:

```json
{ "datasets": ["blight"], "daysBack": 60, "violationKeyword": "weeds" }
```

Arm's-length residential sales between $20,000 and $120,000 in the last 30 days (comps):

```json
{ "datasets": ["sales"], "daysBack": 30, "minSalePrice": 20000, "maxSalePrice": 120000, "armsLengthOnly": true }
```

New vacant-property registrations and the Land Bank's current listings:

```json
{ "datasets": ["vacant", "dlba"], "daysBack": 14 }
```

### Datasets and filters

| Dataset | What it holds | Useful filters |
|---|---|---|
| `blight` | Code-violation tickets: violation, fine, judgment, balance due, payment status, owner and mailing address | days back, ZIP, neighborhood, violation keyword, minimum balance due |
| `vacant` | Vacant-property registrations with owner name | days back, ZIP, neighborhood |
| `sales` | Recorded sales: date, price, seller, buyer, term of sale, property class | days back, ZIP, neighborhood, min and max price, arm's-length only |
| `dlba` | Detroit Land Bank properties currently listed (current list, ignores dates) | neighborhood |
| `demolition` | Demolition pipeline (current list, ignores dates) | ZIP, neighborhood |

Every row carries `dataset`, `address`, `zipCode`, `neighborhood`, `parcelId` and coordinates where the city provides them.

### Real sample rows (October 2026, owner names left out)

| Dataset | Date | Address | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| blight | 2026-10-14 | 19401 Stout | Failure to obtain certificate of registration for rental property, $280 balance due, no payment applied |
| blight | 2026-10-14 | 12854 Bentler | Failure to obtain certificate of compliance, residential rental, $280 balance due |
| vacant | 2026-10-13 | 19758 Prairie St | New vacant-property registration, ZIP 48221 |
| sales | 2026-10-13 | 15544 Normandy | $86,000, arm's-length, residential |

### Output

```json
{
  "dataset": "blight",
  "address": "19401 STOUT",
  "zipCode": "48219",
  "recordId": "26078537DAH",
  "date": "2026-10-14",
  "violation": "Failure to obtain certificate of registration for rental property",
  "fine": 250,
  "balanceDue": 280,
  "paymentStatus": "NO PAYMENT APPLIED",
  "ownerName": "...",
  "ownerMailingAddress": "..."
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per result: **$5.00 per 1,000 records**. A 30-day blight pull for the whole city is a few thousand rows, so a typical run costs a few dollars. Use **Max results** to cap spending.

### Good to know

- Covers the City of Detroit only.
- The data is published by the city and is only as accurate as the city's records. Fields can be blank, and the city's files contain some typo dates (such as years far in the future); date filters exclude them.
- Owner names and mailing addresses come from the city's public records. Use them lawfully: follow rules such as CAN-SPAM for email and TCPA for calls and texts, do not harass anyone, and do not use this data to decide credit, employment, insurance or housing eligibility.
- A ticket is an allegation or a city charge, not proof the property is in distress. Verify before you act.
- Related Actor: **Detroit Building Permits & Contractor Leads**.

# Actor input Schema

## `datasets` (type: `array`):

blight = code-violation tickets with fines, balances due and owner; vacant = vacant-property registrations with owner; sales = recorded property sales with price, buyer and seller; dlba = Detroit Land Bank properties currently for sale; demolition = city demolition pipeline.

## `daysBack` (type: `integer`):

Records dated in the last N days (blight, vacant, sales). Ignored if Start date is set. DLBA and demolition are current lists and ignore dates.

## `startDate` (type: `string`):

Optional. Earliest date.

## `endDate` (type: `string`):

Optional. Latest date. Defaults to today.

## `zipCodes` (type: `array`):

Only these ZIP codes, e.g. 48205, 48227. Empty = all. Not available for DLBA.

## `neighborhoods` (type: `array`):

Exact neighborhood names as the city spells them, e.g. Brightmoor, Jefferson Chalmers. Empty = all.

## `violationKeyword` (type: `string`):

Case-insensitive text in the violation description, e.g. weeds, blight, dumping.

## `minBalanceDue` (type: `integer`):

Only tickets with at least this much still unpaid.

## `minSalePrice` (type: `integer`):

Only sales at or above this price (sales dataset only). 0 = no minimum.

## `maxSalePrice` (type: `integer`):

0 = no limit.

## `armsLengthOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Skip transfers between related parties and other non-market sales.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stops after this many rows (you are charged per result).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "datasets": [
    "blight",
    "vacant"
  ],
  "daysBack": 30,
  "minBalanceDue": 0,
  "minSalePrice": 0,
  "maxSalePrice": 0,
  "armsLengthOnly": false,
  "maxItems": 500
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `records` (type: `string`):

All records returned by this run, as a dataset.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("permitflow/detroit-distressed-property-leads").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("permitflow/detroit-distressed-property-leads").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call permitflow/detroit-distressed-property-leads --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,permitflow/detroit-distressed-property-leads"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/B3UJLzcy8h0MabaCy/builds/ii63NZoLQfxdKdfHb/openapi.json