Detroit

[Carson L'isle]

Who is an established investor in Detroit with a good portfolio that needs an apprentice that can help with the tedious jobs while you mentor?

[Ujwal Velagapudi]

@Eugene A. Lee

I only have property within the city of Detroit so will speak to that, but also know most of the suburban cities well. Detroit is definitely something that either needs an excellent property manager or some local presence based on the issues I've seen. 

Reasons why someone should look to Detroit to invest are the high CAP rates, low cost/easy entry, and growth potential. With Detroit already having some of the cheapest real estate in the entire country, I just can't imagine a property losing value if taken care of well. At the same time, for rentals, I do not anticipate much appreciation in the near future but have invested to gain income.

As for the reasons not buy in Detroit or some struggles you will face, there are definitely a few. You will find it very difficult to find financing due to location/low cost, finding good tenants is much harder and you will have to lower your standards, safety concerns if you self manage, and difficulty trying to get anything done with the city. 

I have my tenants deposit directly into my bank account, so I do not involve myself in handling cash or physically having to go to my locations. For re-zoning issues, licenses, etc. that my tenants needed I have had to help them in each step and guide them (applies only to commercial). I have been assisting my tenant in a re-zoning effort for my property to help him obtain a new business license, which has taken 1 year. Finding good tenants is also difficult, but sometimes it's just pure luck in who you get, especially in Detroit. Some of my tenants do not have any credit, or extremely poor credit, but still some of my best tenants overall. I self manage all my Detroit units, and over the years have been getting tips by locals/tenants since I was very naive & oblivious early on in terms of my safety. 

There are plenty of cheap properties, but finding a really good deal for a rental will take some time. 3 of my properties were purchased from 70+ yr old owner occupied sellers that were looking to retire. They were in decent shape, mostly occupied, and needed no rehab. Those deals definitely do not come by often. 

@Eugene A. Lee & @Venise Brooks let me know if you have any specific questions, I just threw out what came to mind.