Hamtramck, MI

[Richard C.]

My brother-in-law is a new agent in this town/city whatever (looks to me like formalized segregation, frankly.  Polish/Ukrainian/East European enclave entirely surrounded by Detroit.)  He's very keen to sell me a rental house there.

I haven't purchased out-of-state before.  The purchase prices in Hamtramck make me willing to basically buy just to throw him a bone, but I thought I would toss this out to the BP community and see what people think.  Having a reliable local contact in the form of my brother-in-law is obviously important.

What say you?

[Tom A.]

Hamtramck has long been a community where various ethnic groups have congregated as they immigrated to the US, got established, and moved on up the economic ladder. The ethnicities have changed over time but its status as a "stepping stone" community has not. 

Hamtramck fared better than Detroit as the population dropped, probably due to the ethnic clustering and the accompanying retail that catered to them. It's had a decent retail business district for decades. It's small enough to be able to walk to shopping. Its affordability has also led to a fair influx of "hipsters" who value the low cost, traditional downtown shopping amenities, ethnic restaurants and cheap bars.

There are a lot of 2-flat type of residences. Parking can be tight. Some areas of town are considered more desirable than others, house prices and rents reflect that.

If you have knowledgeable, trusted local "boots on the ground" investing in Hamtramck could work for you.