The lack of hyper-local knowledge is probably an issue in every market, but I think it's particularly difficult in Grand Rapids (I live and invest here).

What happens if a tenant forgets to tell you that the foundation is settling rapidly?

The values are rapidly climbing back up especially in the Northwest part of the city.

I expect property values to continue appreciating rapidly for the next 10 years as Detroit is completely rebuilding as a city that is not depending on the auto industry.

Ask your broker if they have ability to run score wizard, you may have improvement points available and broker can run rapid re-score to raise your score,this could be done in 24-48 hours.

The problem with those sites, like others mentioned is they use old comps and if you know your area you can most likely discount some that are too far away just by looking at the street name.In a market that is rapidly changing you simply cannot afford to rely on outdated data, you need to know what the home is worth TODAY, not last year.Jeff

Have you try to raise the score with rapid scoring?

Carefully review loan rate terms and calculate "worst case" numbers should treasury interest rates rapidly increase and home value drop 20-50%.

The city is growing rapidly with the influx of people moving here, especially from California.

There are some markets (a lot in the northeast) where initial cash flow is minimal or non-existent but the historic rate of appreciation in those areas are a lot higher so both rent and property value increases rapidly.