I totally understand the struggle, Venecia!

Also look at the rental laws in the areas you are considering, just so you understand what you are getting into and whether you are OK with them or not.

Property values have been appreciating rapidly in recent years, and the city’s population has started growing again—a trend we haven’t seen in decades.I’m also based in California and have been investing in Detroit for several years, so I understand the concerns of out-of-state investing.

While cash flow may be harder to achieve here, these markets often shine in their ability to withstand market downturns and provide solid appreciation over time.The key in markets like this is understanding your goals.

I would hesitate to say 1-2 years to rotate out but closer to 5 years, and ideally I'd try to get the downpayment higher to at least 10%.I understand your areas though-- they're expensive.

I'm going to have take a little time to wrap my head around it but if I'm understanding things correctly this is a very interesting opportunity.  

I don't understand the rationale in not raising the rent in the case that they are very far under market.  

You can go on Thumbtack, TaskRabbit, etc and handymen will not go out for less than $125 a job plus supplies.What most owners who are not hands on do not understand is the value for their time.

As to Grant Cardone, you have to have capital to do a bigger deals... and syndications is one way you can do that (which as I understand it is the deal that Grant pitches)... combine  your money with others to do the big deal... but at the end of the day, you own $20,000 worth of a $10 million deal if you put in $20,000.  

Understand entity structuring and what is best for you, especially if you are going to do flips.This post does not create a CPA-Client relationship.