If you are looking to house hack in our local neck of the woods, I recommend reaching out to @Josh Green.

This will show you that people have options to go out and pick another house over your place. 

Are there any house at that price point that would rent for $1200-1500/ month with 20k worth of updating?"

Is it better to keep adding equity by doing work on the houses while I'm renting them then refinance to recover the initial down-payment to reinvest into another property or to pay down the heloc?

I know in Philadelphia if I had a 2 BR house it would be viewed favorably by tenants who are seeking 2 BR living situations because most inventory will be apartment style living and for this reason would achieve a rent premium.

Unfortunately, it's now going to get more complicated:(There are two types of approaches PMCs use to bill for maintenance:1) In-house ServiceTechs on the payroll, so owners are billed for their time by the hour.While the labor charges above are useful, they don't cover the true costs a PMC incurs, like:- Payroll costs for FICA, Social Security, Medicare, etc. that typically add 25-40% to the hourly rate- Medical insurance costs for the worker- Payroll processing costs to handle all of the above- Liability insurance costs in case worker damages something or injures someone- Workman's Compensation insurance- Costs of vehicles and tools- and more...Typically the management contract will disclose the total hourly rate an owner will be charged.

When you buy a house, how does that impact your credit score?

I have to flip an entire house to make $12k, but an agent makes that in a couple hours without having to leave their home?!?!

If my stories scare them (and they often do), they should NOT be investing in Detroit.But I'm equally tired of the narrative that these sorts of houses don't work as cash flowing investments.

Gas or electric would be a much better option, safety wise, from a house fire standpoint, CO danger, or danger to children or pets from the open flames.