Looked at them several years ago.  

It's tough in this market but not dead, off market deals are very tough to get right now and you have to jump on them when you see a good one.

I look at asking price as a suggestion. 

I have a guy who has been here since July, but I renew his short term stay for two weeks at a time, every two weeks.

Quote from @Marc Zak: In the market where I live (San Diego), appreciation has been strong and many predict it will continue to appreciate in the long term.However, with current interest rates (6% at best) and property tax (2%), the annual cost burden is 8%.Am I correct in saying that appreciation has to be above 8% annually (plus whatever my maintenance and vacancy costs are) for me to make any money in this scenario if the property is cash flow neutral?

Practical Tips for Managing PropertiesFinding Good Tenants: Screen thoroughly.

I've been a MTR/STR host for almost 5 years now with about 100 doors cohosting. most important for me are1.

The home the owner is wanting is reasonable enough for the cost to build the home would make the "cost" of the property to be bought at a discount.

Find someone now. 

Detroit has a lot of real estate investor meetups that you can locate in the events forum here and on meetup dot com.