Alumni Spotlight: Maria Franklin
By: Serena Maria Daniels
​​
The idea that one can earn a degree in the field they studied and find a clear path to home ownership and generational wealth seems to be ever fleeting. That reality has forced Detroiters like Maria Franklin to rethink their path, often leading them to real estate development.
Franklin says she found herself in that boat around 2010 when she entered into a land contract for her first home in Redford. She was denied three times for traditional lending that could have saved hundreds monthly on the cost of housing, despite her having a degree from Wayne State University, a budding career as a registered dietician, and a record of paying toward the land contract on time. Like many, she found herself with little room to build generational wealth.
​
More than a decade later, after mortgage denials, costly investment mistakes, and guidance from Detroit's development community, Franklin has learned how to use real estate as a way to achieve that goal.
Franklin’s path includes her own research, reading books like Rich Dad Poor Dad, attending an investment seminar, and joining a local real estate group at Wayne County Community College. There, she learned about tax foreclosure auctions and connected with investors who shared advice about acquiring and renovating properties.
Franklin put that knowledge into practice, investing $5,000 she had considered spending on a mentorship program toward her first property acquisition.
Franklin and her best friend purchased two Detroit houses through the tax foreclosure auction. They found contractors and began renovations, navigating challenges that included break-ins and squatters.
But their lack of experience became particularly costly when they rented one of the properties to a tenant without fully understanding Detroit's requirements for lead clearance, certificates of occupancy, and inspections. They offered the woman below-market rent, but Franklin said difficulties managing the tenancy, along with mounting property taxes and city tickets, eventually led them to sell the house at a loss.
“I was like, ‘I know there's potential here, but I need to learn more,’ and so I went back to school to get my MBA because that was the closest thing I could find that would be beneficial for me in a real estate space,” says Franklin.
She went on to pursue mentorship in the field, reaching out to Detroit real estate investor Kathy Makino-Leipsitz dozens of times to ask for an unpaid internship — eventually winning her over by offering to bring her homemade cookies. That experience taught her about low income housing tax credits and historic apartment renovations and led her to meet Monique Galan, former manager of program implementation for Building Community Value.
Franklin joined BCV's 2023 cohort, gaining practical knowledge about Detroit's development process and the requirements she had struggled to navigate during her first investment.
Equally valuable were the relationships she developed with people willing to exchange information and support one another.
"I just love the network," says Franklin. "When I took that course, just getting connected with people who are interested in the same thing, experienced in the work, open with information. Like everything that I have learned, I want to give it away. And that's the feeling that I get when it comes to the whole BCV network.”
She remains involved with BCV's alumni community, recognizing that access to experienced professionals can be especially important for developers navigating projects at different stages.
Franklin has since found an opportunity to apply those lessons to a different kind of investment.
When she considered selling her second Detroit property to another investor, an acquaintance mentioned that she wanted a home she could eventually leave to her son. Franklin offered her a land contract with monthly payments of $350, giving the woman an opportunity to work toward ownership while investing in repairs.
They worked with an attorney to draft an agreement designed to protect both parties. Five years later, the buyer has consistently made payments and is expected to own the home outright within the next year.
“I wanted to help her. I just continue to want to help people, and position our community in a better spot,” says Franklin.
That commitment to expanding opportunity also informs Franklin's work as executive director of L!FE Leaders, a Detroit nonprofit serving young people ages 14 to 24 through leadership development, career exposure, and financial literacy programming.
For Franklin, the next chapter of her development career builds on what she has already learned: how to make real estate investments financially sustainable while creating opportunities for Detroit families to establish lasting ownership.