Its not so much "how" you should do flips/rehabs in some neighborhood, but rather should you even do them to begin with or just salvage what's left.And if you go 5 blocks west - its rose gardens in every front yard with "We Call Police" signs in the windows.

So I can give you a pretty good perspective as I see you also live in the garden state. 

I was raised in Germantown, and my parents are still there, although I moved a few miles down the road to Central Gardens in midtown.Good luck to you!!

Welcome Account ClosedFellow Kansan -- I used to live in SW KS myself -- Holcomb just west of Garden City - still travel that way quite a bit during the fall hunting seasons.Where you're living that's got to be a tough market to invest in - think you'll have to get creative.  

AYB looks like a very well run REIT and I know folks who live in Avalon apartments and like their "garden" communities.

We are finding that renters really don't use much yard space other than a patio and maybe a small garden bed either.

They have to think about mowing the grass, weeding the gardens, the heat, the AC, the electric, etc.  

I redid the guest bathroom, updated light fixtures throughout the house, repainted the whole interior, updated appliances, built furniture, added a garden space and a variety of fruiting plants, and so much more I can't even remember.

The most attractive to tenants have been the low utilities: furnace upgrades, the solar PV and solar hot water, along with providing garden space in the back yard.

Dues generally cover insurance, water, property maintenance, gardener, pool guy, cleaning the common areas, security, etc.