I agree with what Larry said. I live here in the Detroit metro area but I do not yet invest here. Especially in Detroit proper! There are a lot of nuances about the city that unless you have a strong team on the ground you just will not know about. Even if I choose to invest in the Detroit metro area I almost certainly will begin investing in the suburbs. There is a lot of money to be made in the surrounding suburbs.
I started out in Indianapolis because I know the city well and there is a lot of growth and opportunity there. Taxes are stupid low lots of wholesalers hawking their properties and the infrastructure for investors (rehabbers, roofers, property managers, etc.) is plentiful.
I also agree with what many people have said - build a team first. Network on bigger pockets, talk to investors and rehabbers, and property managers on the phone. As many as you can stand to do. Build up a list of wholesalers and get on their cash buyer's list. And then if you find a property you can run it through that team to decide if it is a good area good taxes and good cashflow.
Originally posted by @Larry Stone:
I think I need to clarify something. The comments I made specifically involved DETROIT PROPER investing. However, if your from out of town you might want to consider a suburb of Detroit. The initial price to purchase a property will be higher, but the ease of either doing a rehab for a flip or actually cleaning a place up as a rental will be much easier and safer. The suburbs of Detroit are EXCELLENT places to hold rental properties. You can still purchase lots of properties for well under 100,000.00 and get a much better renter or at least not have to worry as much about the property itself during your rehab. Consider Grosse Pointe Park (it borders Detroit) or Grosse pointe Woods. Both have strong rental markets. Also, Eastpointe is another town that sits directly across from the famous 8 mile road and makes another great rental/ flip market. The suburbs are much friendlier places to invest in and for the most part the city offices are easy to work with, Detroit, not so much. Don't take the bait and try and buy some brick house in Detroit for $5.00 a square foot like you are getting the deal of a lifetime. Trust me, if that were the case there are plenty of deep pocketed investors right here that would have beat you to the punch!! The Detroit area is full of money so if its super cheap and the locals wont touch it you have to ask yourself why. Stick to the suburbs.
