I've bought a few cat pee houses and usually because the competition held their noses and ran. 

Bought appliances for $1500 but the kitchen sits unfinished, the bathroom is gutted, a back room was cleaned up to make more living space but won't work well unless its insulated from the underside and its now yucky winter and Ill pay through the nose to have someone go under there.

Ok, now that I stuck my nose in this stupid argument, here come the snipes about Chicago murders.....

I am sure 99% of people on BP are ethical - however, you never know and someone can swoop the deal from right under your nose.2) I think $160,000 is personally a little bit high for that property.3) Alot of the basements in Allentown built in that period are not ideal for another unit.You may be to fix it to add additional square footage; but not another unit.

I'm trying to do all the research I can but I felt like I am missing something else and I feel you and Tae have hit it on the nose.

I’d say it depends on the strike price:A- basically turnkey, pay out the nose, appreciation play, break even or negative cashflow B- “cosmetic “, still low equity, some or no cashflowC- “needs work”, some equity but if it’s SFR not that sexy, .8-1.3% cashflow D- distressed, equity gets eaten up in repair but might get 1.3-1.5%You have to take into account any financial motivators, liens, concessions, the neighborhood, schools, taxes....Find the best value in an emerging market.

Moral of the story is that you pay out the nose to pass the work off to someone else who has all the connections and know-how.

Hit it right on the nose for me!

Make sure you factor in the higher turn over costs (bed bugs, rehab, court fees, etc), vacancy and management, whether self managed or not, it will take more time and effort than normal and require a hard nosed manager to keep it running. 

. - Good motivation to keep your nose clean otherwise!