The question I keep asking myself is will that slowly decaying $3k in cash saved jumpstart our next properties fast enough to outweigh the slightly higher cost longterm.Thanks in advance!

I have a passion for community development, and I would like to see this neighborhood gain a feature which will maintain the community's value, even as the early 80's homes enter a period of gradual decay.

Empty houses don't maintain themselves and they may require repair due to decay, vandalism or animals.Would I buy a house without an inspection?

Many of the buildings that had no users began to decay and fall into ruin, with high concentrations of such buildings in the Monongahela Valley.

We have enough family with plenty of trade contacts in St Ann that we could probably self manage, but have to assume that issues with 50+ year old homes in low income areas would far exceed what we have experienced with newer homes in more affluent areas.The limited return along with dealing with long-distance is a concern, the other concern is the area in general is decaying. 

`It has already made the turnAnd yes I have seen the 25% per year Appreciation Detroit is not JUST recovering from a housing down turn like the whole country is, but is rebuilding from a long term decay of which the housing crash was just the final straw.Lots of new construction happeningAfter Dan Gilbert bought all of the downtown buildings (86 last number I saw) People were saying he wouldn't be able to fill them after he renovated them.Now he is building new construction downtown

If it is a CHWS and not being maintained replacement costs can be huge, especially if underground piping is decaying, it would me cost effective to replace with DX Splits.Heating - they mentioned boiler and hot water heater replaced in the last 10 years.

Inspection and walk through with contractor reveal significant decay/rot in parts of the subfloor (likely due to a previous bathroom leak).

Us in a nutshell: We're just about to start building up passive income and rental properties are the most appealing asset class for us in these days and economic climate.Having just read 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' couple months ago it totally changed our minds about how to financially secure our future.. instead of having our savings sit & decay in a bank account we're now eager to invest in real estate (rental properties)!

But cities are often receptive to a upgrade like this as the alternative of an empty building decaying away.Best wishes