Hey guys I'm new to the forum, I just stumbled upon the forum yesterday, I'm 23 years old right now I've been flipping used cars and doing contractor work for the past year and i've saved enough of my profit to purchase my first property, any advice, tips, book recommendations, courses or thread recommendations would be greatly appreciated, I'm in a mode where I have an immense appetite to learn and absorb content.Thanks,           Quin

Gold and the gold miners have been poor performers for years now, because the market as been largely in "risk on" mode, while at the same time the Fed has been in QT mode.  

If you're looking for additional safety, you could even split some of it to be invested into conservatively underwritten debt, so that if things go badly you can foreclose and recover some or all of your principal.

In class D or C- there are issues beyond just safety. 

FYI it's generally going to have to be "dumb person and toddler" proof to close on the purchase ("dump person and toddler" proof is an easy rule of thumb for when an appraiser is required to call something out as a "health and safety" hazard), assuming you are getting a normal mortgage.

One mode of thinking is that the cheaper rentals suffer less from a downturn, since "they gotta live somewhere" and some renters from the higher end units will move down until the economy rebounds. 

I wish you good success with your model.  I

There is more safety in owning a property outright.You should study the benefits of both, apply them to your situation, and then determine which option is best for you.

Or they just don't want to work in that arena, their business model is different.

There are legitimate public safety risk homes there that can NOT be torn down because the setbacks are now too restrictive to allow a new building, even at the same size as the old one.