“The couple had purchased a dilapidated two-story townhouse in Detroit (pictured at left) for $500 at a tax auction in October 2012. But weeks later, when they drove to the home on the city’s east side to get measurements for boards that they were planning to have installed, the couple was shocked to discover that their house was nothing but ‘a pile,’ Diven told The Detroit News. And their house wasn’t the only one: 11 other properties, which had been purchased by a local investor, were also demolished. It was a mistake made by the state’s Land Bank Fast Track Authority — who had demolished all 12 properties as part of a program to eliminate blight near three local schools.”
http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/01/11/detroit-houses-demolished-accidentally/