It turns out a prior owner had started some construction that was against code and the structure was deemed unstable.

For sidewalks or staircase of this type, better off by demoing it, remove unstable soils, replace with good aggregate base course, then form, place rebar, and place concrete.  

@Alan AsriantsI will be the adversary In this discussionWhile people who hold long term end up on top it doesn’t mean it’s the best investment available.A high yield savings account will get you 5.5%6 month t bill 5%Real estate cap rates 4.5%S&P 4.2%It’s not always a bad thing to sit on the sidelines, those that say there is no better day to invest in real estate typically have not been through unstable or a down market.

My business has allowed me to increase my income dramatically from a few years ago, but feels very unstable in the long term.

Andrey a large majority of jobs these days are unstable.

Does anyone have experience investing in an area where renting is either unstable or doing poorly?

Hey everybody!I'm a long-time lurker and voracious reader/listener to BP. Long story short, I left a secure hospital job to be a Realtor about a year ago. It has been a challenging but rewarding year. I don't think I ...

If you have high cash flow on paper but highly unstable and irresponsible tenants in the ghetto somewhere, then your paper cash flow won't do you much good as you will not be able to realize it.

My opinion on my market is that it is too unstable to invest in right now unless it is a screaming deal. 

I don't think banks would be so open to lending for an investment propery with someone that has unstable income.