These homes for $15-$25K that I keep reading about... are they going to see any appreciation?

[Chris G.]

I keep reading about these homes that you can pick up for $15-$30K and that you can rent for around $600/month.
I'm wondering if they will ever see any appreciation, or at the very least hold value.

Are these homes just pure cash flow plays where you put in X amount of dollars and get a near ad infinitum cash flow from rental, but you wont really ever get your initial capital back out?

OR will they at least hold their value and be SELLABLE at the original purchase price (the currently heavily devalued pricing) in ~5-10 years?

These sound really good opportunities to buy and hold for the long, long, long term. Why not build a portfolio of 30-40 of these houses spread amongst a few different cities and live off the returns ad infinitum?

We are at or near the bottom of the market, these houses aren't going to devaule much more, and even if they do -- the rental income will remain. So buying now has a pretty good chance of hedging your bets to always put you on the positive side of the equation.