If you want to speculate in the small dollar flips you or your wife need to get your Realtor license to generate some breaks at purchase and sale.

That's more speculation though. 

This is more speculative, but if you have that belief and are flexible with when you wish to cash out refinance, it may make sense to put the cash up to purchase the property if you don't need the cash now and want to secure a property.

Don't just focus on the after-repair value (ARV) - that's pure speculation until the project is actually completed and sold.🛑 Unrealistic ROIBeware of deals promising excessively high returns without proper collateral or penalties.

Many people are speculating that interest rates are going to go down and/or rents are going to go up. 

The value in real estate is actually high leverage + high risk taking in speculative environment.

Do they have conservative LTVs and lending practices or are they doing 80% LTV + 100% rehab, immediately funding deals with little to no equity to protect your loan (and completely speculative on the ARV, I might add). - What is their default rate and principal loss to date? 

The part I mentioned was illegal would be if the agent was misrepresenting one side in order to get the deal done (somewhat speculative unless they do something obvious). 

There is a degree of speculation and luck surely.

The appreciation seen here and throughout Detroit is mainly from real estate speculation - the buying of severely distressed property and increasing its value through speculative improvements.