Rent growth:  This has been flat to negative lately. 

If they're not familiar then it's your chance to get your foot in the door by bringing 1031 education to them.It's been a few years since I checked but at one time NAR showed statistics that of all the transactions potentially qualifying for 1031 exchanges, only about 10% were actually handled that way. 

One or two little mistakes in your underwriting, a miss on the walkthrough, and you will blow right through your profit and come out in negative. 

@Chris Kay it's VERY difficult to cashflow with 0% down purchases.We do 0-10% down Land Contracts and know going in we may actually have negative cashflow - which is acceptable given the low down payment and avoiding mortgage costs.

I am just researching, and the more "negative" stuff I found about it the more I am inclined not to make an offer on it.

If you do use a heloc,  you are directly negating any benefit. 

All cash costs, and negative CF is a loss, must be recovered before you can make a profit. 

I have made a lot of money in RE and negative cash flow is not a criteria that i typically ponder.  

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Any insights from your experience, whether positive or negative, would be greatly appreciated.The attached link explains the current situation with the Detroit Housing Commission (DHC), highlighting that they are severely understaffed and have limited communication with both tenants and landlords.