Potential First Purchase in Not So Great Neighborhood Houston

[Aadejoke Jagunna]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping to get some advice on a couple of properties I have been looking out. I am in the Houston market and have been running properties in the Sunnyside area of town. This is not the best neighborhood, but I am seeing a lot of development in the area (new construction builds etc). I ran numbers on a couple of the properties there and a few of them have potential of cash flowing at least $300 monthly based on my estimate. The price of the properties i looked at are very attractive between 90-110K and I can  come up with the 20% down for the down payment. The houses i looked at are single family homes, most were recently renovated, I checked rent estimates using rentometer. 

Here are my questions:

• What else do i need to factor into consideration of this deal outside of the numbers?
• With property not being in a great part of town should i be concerned ?
• I figure if i dont provide any appliances then i dont have to be responsible for fixing. Does it make sense to manage the property myself or pay someone to do it for me?
• On a property in a not so great part of town should i be worried about rising property tax rates?
• Does it make sense to go drive around in the neighborhood to see what its like? i don't plan on living in the property but would like to make sure its safe for my tenants.
• My realtor thinks i should look to a nicer part of town instead but this means i would have to spend more time saving to come up with the down payment since those properties are at least 50-60K more and dont necessarily generate that much more cash flow. My realtor however is not an investment adviser. 

I appreciate any advice.

Thanks