Deciding on a niche area

[Bryan Blancke]

Hey Guys!

I am a new investor looking to get started with my first purchase. I plan to have a buy and hold strategy. I am trying to figure out what I want to focus on. I am thinking single family or multi family properties. I live in the metro Detroit area. I can't decide where I want my niche to be. I am considering cities in the metro Detroit area such as, Ferndale, Royal Oak, Hazel Park, Oak Park, Birmingham, Southfield, Warren, ect. After looking into some of these area's I think Hazel Park seems pretty good. The price to buy a home versus the rent in this area is good and I believe these properties would cash flow well. I have heard Warren is good and could be a good cash flow area as well. Personally Ferndale and Royal Oak are my favorite area's to spend time, so investing there could be cool. However, I feel like the Ferndale market is currently very overpriced for what rent is there.  

I need to choose carefully and consider what kind of tenants I want to have and how much involvement will be required of me as a landlord. After looking at city data for some of these places. I still think Hazel Park is okay, even though its a lower income area. Its mostly blue collar working families. I wonder what this kind of demographic would mean for me as an investor. On the flip side, if I am investing in a nicer area such as Royal Oak, those properties might be a better pick to keep on my portfolio and they might also require less management work from me. 

What do you guys think about Hazel Park, Royal Oak and some of these other area's?