Investing in Detroit (Remotely)

[Mike S.]

Hi everyone!

I've listened to almost all of the podcasts and learned a ton from the site, which is why I get an uneasy feeling about my friend planning to invest in Detroit. He plans to buy single family homes for around 30k with cash, put up to 10k into rehabbing them and then thinks they'll rent for roughly $900/month. He said he's run the numbers and they will easily cash flow several hundred per month. He'll continue to live out of state and work with a property management company. Betting on appreciation is generally a bad idea, but if the properties are actually cash flowing, is there another reason to stay away? 

He and I both bought multi-family house hacks recently, so we're excited about continuing to invest, but I know there have been several pro tips about why doing this exact strategy can cause problems. Any advice I can pass along to him would be great. Or if you think I should start working with him, I'd love to hear about that, too! 

Thanks, 

Mike