A successful rental property should offer positive cash flow, meaning your rental income should exceed your monthly expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.).To find the right tenants, ensure the property is priced competitively within the local rental market.

the way to go about it is turn it over to your insurance and get the police report.. sometimes insurance will then subjugate the claim and go after the tenant criminally I had that happen on one of my rentals where the tenant did 40k in malicious damage on a new construction home I purchased in MS. 

Nate @Nate Marroquin   You can use the income from your tax returns on the current rental adding back your paper loss (depreciation) and add back the mortgage interest, property taxes, home owners insurance deductions on your tax returns. 

Good points.I'd add square, level, plumb - license, insurance, bond - using permits to follow codepointing out problems the owner doesn't realize they have that are serious. 

Might be an additional cost there.If units are updated, capex items look good, leases and tenants look solid, and there are no other regular expenses besides the 5200 in insurance/property taxes then I like this deal.  

A good property manager can help with tenant screening, enforce lease terms, and handle evictions more efficiently if it comes to that.Require a Larger Security Deposit: Within the bounds of local regulations, a larger deposit can provide a cushion in case of damage or unpaid rent.Consider Rent Guarantee Insurance: Some companies offer insurance products that can cover lost rent in case of tenant default.

The bottom line is this: Concealment is not asset protection, proper (time consuming and expensive, I know) management, and good, prudent, practices (ditto), WHICH ARE ADHERED TO, and insurance (expensive), are needed for asset protection.

We are about to put in $15-$20k of our own money into it, beyond what insurance covered and I need help deciding how we should finance it. 

What kind of insurance do you use? 

Here are a few stats which should raise an eyebrow about Detroit $1 billion invested in more than 4,600 units of affordable housing over the past five years Job growth with more than 25,000 more Detroiters employed since 2014 A return to investment grade bond status for the first time since 2009Reductions in crime beating national trends, including the fewest homicides in 57 years Successfully hosting the largest ever NFL Draft at 775,000 people over three days In terms of starting out in Real Estate it also makes sense to invest in Detroit considering that the entry costs are low and if you plan to buy and hold, Section 8 makes for a great partner to insure steady rent payments.