I don't understand how half of the year is above $1500 and now in the 3rd quarter it's bad to less than $400.

If you are tolerant to good and bad debt you can buy sooner:)

You get more for your dollar and the commute on 36 really isn't that bad.

We also send an automated message to them around noon time the day after check-in just to see if they have any questions or need anything, most guests really appreciate us checking in with them, this also avoids the common scenario of guests that have an issue at the property but just choose not to tell you about it, then leave a bad review without giving you a chance to make things right.

I've gotten a few bites and some apps but mostly dead beats with evictions and bad rental history. 

On top of that you have operational inefficiencies that local investors simply don't have.Some of the absentee (OOS) slumlords are giving all of us property owners a bad rep here in Milwaukee.

You still pay interest on it like any other loan, so it's a bad idea.

For a flip, the profit is treated as ordinary income, not capital gains.

Massive dehumidifiers are filling with at least 3-4 gallons of water daily - we can't rent until a slew of multi thousand dollar repairs are completed.We were told that the dehumidifiers the sellers had in the house were only used during the spring when snowmelt was very bad.

As other's above have mentioned, Midwest wouldn't be a bad idea.