I use Buildium for tracking rent, fees, leases, and collecting online payments, but I don't use their reports for much, as I end up copying my online banking each year into spreadsheets.I've been using Rental Hero for the last hour and already impressed with it.

My goal is to bump up rents and give the property a face lift over the next 18 months.

Every Market (Detroit) is made up of a series of Micro-markets (neighborhoods) of which they are all different in cost, value, cash flow, rents, etc...

I am currently operating this investment from the inside while living in the master, and renting out the other rooms. 

LTRs with long term conventional financing and standard management aren't really cash flowing anywhere right now. sure, there are lower cost markets that look better on paper, but there are costs associated with those supposedly cheap markets as well - deferred maintenance, more challenging tenant base, higher cost turnovers as a percentage of the rent.2. i wouldn't pick a random market thousands of miles away based solely on statistics or numbers. 

I'm certainly cognizant of the risks of managing a property remotely (my wife and I did rent out our Chicagoland house for a couple years while living in STL).

Let's say $300k, you then agree to the purchase price but add your own terms (ex. 0% interest, 5% down, 16 years to pay back).This way, you're paying (example) $1,800/month but renting the property for $2,400/month and pocketing the difference.Anyone have success doing such a thing?

Over the summer my wife and I bought our first condo with the idea of renting it out later on down the road and kicking off our investment journey.

It was high rent, low entry point area but within 6 months I dealt with an eviction and electrical issues.

What the gurus do NOT tell you is they expect you to get a Class C S8 tenant to rent a Class D property.