$3500 for a SMF - can anything go wrong?

[Jan Kutrzeba]

Hi guys!

I'm just starting out hence my possibly very naive question: is a $3500 house a steal of a deal, or can it possibly be a money pit and a headache? I'm finding several under $5k properties (SFH and MFH all in need of a total rehab, obviously) in a city not far away from me in Upstate NY. The eager-me wants to buy all of them in the hopes of wholeselling them for a nice profit. I found all of these on Trulia, so they're not anyone's secret gems... My plan would be to wholesale them - possibly even without seeing them in person.

What's your experience buying properties this cheap? What should I be aware of, all else being equal (taxes, zoning issues, the area (possible crime, population decline, unemployment rate, economic vehicles, transportation hubs, etc.). In my inexperienced eyes these deals seem too good to be true.

Thank you in advance!