I think that may even be before the neighbored fell into decay in the 1980s-90’s?

However, since April last year, the seasoning period for conventional is now 12 months which really counteracts the rate/fee benefits for most BRRRR method investors

I never even knew that they decay like that over time or what to replace them with. 

Milwaukee has been reinventing itself in the last 20 years and the transformation from the rust belt decay in the 1980s is becomming very visible in the last ten years.

We drove neighborhoods, a practice known as “driving for dollars,” and looked for abandoned homes with overgrown lawns, newspapers stacked in the driveway, and exterior decay.

You want a neighborhood where the neighbors are trying to sustain or improve.We drive the same neighborhoods year after year and get a feel for the trend in each, are they improving or decaying.

The water soaked into the concrete slab the house sat on as well as had major roof leaks (been vacant and decaying since 2013 after all), since the roof needed to be completely repaired (this property was in disarray lol).

Some leaky faucets , slow drains , a broken window , a broken screen door, missing damaged facia , Eve's and saufet .wood decay around front door , a ceiling fan that doesn't work , ac with water filling drain pan , crack in garage ceiling , 1 cracked floor tile, 1 double tapped breaker , and a missing attic inspection cover .

As you wrote; “An A class asset is an inherently less risky asset than a D class asset...”The intent of my initial post was to counteract the mainline philosophy purported by many BP members to never invest in appreciation.  

It's due to a combination of negative growth rates (people moving out) and crime and urban decay, etc.