Baltimore city is a heaping pile of crap.

I am not required to buy CRAP & sometimes we wholesale those & split the wholesale fee.I am a full time Real Estate Investor and I have Always TOLD people to go to Bigger Pockets FIRST and get everything that they can FOR FREE.... as well as to join ALL of their local REIA Groups & Meetup Groups that they can for FREE or very cheap...and I have told them to always be careful if someone wants to charge you a LOT of money?

I am looking to have one on the books for the future but also to handle the "crap" for me for now :)  

I love the thought of buying something that looks like crap, and making it beautiful.  

I have seen things where roofers will take your great material you bought and put leftover crap from other jobs on yours and try to save the good stuff.

I have a strong back and can bust down walls and cart the crap out.

My way or the highway crap is going to give you empty houses under those conditions.Tenants are not children, and you can only get away with treating like children for so long before it comes back to bite you.And since you mention your laundry list of examples, you know who is really "in charge" to the extent anyone is?  

Even My property I currently own, would barely make a profit if bought in today's market.My Question: I've built up a significant down payment to buy a place up to $650000, but am starting to tire and be discouraged looking at the crap being offered.

You can make the 2% rule today and have your returns look like crap for the next ten years due to high maintenance and capex costs.

An appraisal is always a crap shoot.