The southeast-MI/northwest-OH and even MI at large economy is driven purely by the automotive industry.

Is it purely local, such as convenience stores, laundromats, dry cleaners, or something wider, such as Supermarket, hardware store, paint store.2.

Pure research project - - as a question and find/record all answers.

After the first stage (which pays for the furniture) the furniture turns into a pure money making asset. 

I can drive a car and go to Home Depot a couple of times as well as my contractor, I can't hang drywall or tile as fast as he can.Think in terms of getting crews working not one person.Btw not to pick nits, but from a pure financial perspective, there is an opportunity cost for your money.

@Tim Vecchioni, put simply, your personal residence is always going to be largely a lifestyle choice, rather than purely an investment choice.

If you're looking at pure cap rate, Atlanta is going to work.  

-Joe If needed, you can always pay debts down/off to qualify either right before writing offers, or even in escrow.What you cannot do, however, is un-pay-off a car loan to restore liquidity that in retrospect is needed.So purely from that perspective, I'd suggest waiting until you know what you're actually looking to buy and if the debts are hindering you.

Does this purely depend on the market and the expenses involved?

As far as finding the deals goes, it's just pure hustle in my opinion.