Depends on what your goals are. 1-4 units are still residential, so it doesn't really matter how you start.

So depending on if you are using it personally and want to have it pay for itself or you just want cash flow will help determine where you should look and what type/size home you want to consider.Please reach out anytime and let me know if I can be of help.

Sometimes they forget to tell you that many tenants in Detroit don't pay (depending on the property manager skill and the type of tenant) - but taxes are very high in the city and so is insurance. 

It depends where you are on your wealth and life ladder.

Best I can tell all in all we about 3X cash on cash over 5 years.infil lots depending on lot we could double our money in 9 to 12 months cash on cash.. so on and so forth.

@Peter Tverdov it depends on going wages in your marketplace.I would imagine labor costs are much higher in NJ than in MI.

@Stefano Vrolijk it all depends on your credit history, whether you have an SSN/ ITIN and how much you can put down.

But it just depends on your risk threshold and how much you're looking to spend.  

Depending on how close you are to Philadelphia you can really manage the property yourself as many Jersey neighborhoods are even closer to philly than some philly neighborhoods.

Will depend on several factors like the type of property, type of tenants, your risk tolerance, other assets you own, your estate planning, laws where the property is located, etc.