(I lived in two duplexes and turned one of my residences into a duplex as I was building my portfolio and those were mostly 1% deals)  If however you think the appreciation on that property will be far faster/higher than others expect then it might be worth a leaner deal at 1%, but appreciation plays are mostly speculation/gambling.  

And no, I'm not talking about pure speculation plays ...

Account Closed$400K for a condo ... here on the other side of the country, there are several places I can get a 6-12 unit building for that amount ;-)5 - 10% is not enough margin to even consider for a flip ... you would be better off speculating .... buy a condo, live it in for 6-months in the hopes the run-away-train keeps picking-up speed and the sell ... as risky as that sounds.Alternatively, you could find a partner in another part of the country and invest for cashflow or as a money lender.

This is, after all, Wall Street speculators who like to buy low and sell high.

My speculation is that since income is higher in those properties, 50% of the higher income would represent an outsized number.

Like a sudden loss of jobs in the area, a sudden increase in taxes, or an excess of speculation building, which can't happen over night.Yes.

"Up and coming" neighborhoods would be places like Ohio City and University Circle, but with those areas speculation is impossible and who knows where the taxes will go or where the neighborhood will be in 5 years!

Of course this is speculation and not guaranteed. 

It might be a speculation play or just garbage for people who don’t know any better.

In other words do not be (ALL IN) on a speculative development project and lose what has taken years or even decades to create in wealth.