Historic Detroit Home Owned by Aretha Franklin Sells for $300K

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The late, great Aretha Franklin was one of Detroit‘s most celebrated residents. The Queen of Soul’s reign in the Motor City has come to an end, with word that the singer’s estate has sold off her property in the city proper.

Her 5,600-square-foot brick home next to the Detroit Golf Club sold for $300,000 in October. According to the Detroit News, the purchase also included an empty half-acre lot next door.

Built in 1927, the historic mansion has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a backyard adjacent to the golf course. Franklin’s estate gave the new buyer—who reportedly has no connection with Franklin or her family—a sweet deal. The home is estimated to be worth more than $318,000.

The “Natural Woman” singer purchased the home in 1993 for an undisclosed amount. The property fell into foreclosure in 2008 due to unpaid taxes, an issue Franklin blamed on an accounting error at the time. The taxes were paid shortly thereafter and the home was saved.

While the Detroit home sold quickly, there’s still a home on the market owned by Franklin’s estate if you’re looking for your own piece of pedigreed property. On sale for $800,000, the five-bedroom home in the posh suburb of Bloomfield Township, MI, was built in 1990.

Exterior of Bloomfield Hills home

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At the time of her death, Franklin owned five Michigan properties and was worth an estimated $80 million. However, she died without a will in place and her estate was divided between her four sons.

“I tried to convince her that she should do not just a will but a trust while she was still alive,” Don Wilson, an attorney who worked with Franklin, told the Associated Press. “She never told me, ‘No, I don’t want to do one.’ She understood the need, It just didn’t seem to be something she got around to.”

Her heirs are making quick work of selling off the properties. And although the properties will acquire new owners, the city will always bear the indelible mark of Franklin’s achievements.

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