I would need to know more specs on the house but with material shortages It's difficult to say how much to budget. 80K-120K for full gut perhaps but unsure with lumber beings so expensive and shortages.I would plan 9 months of vacancy between the pain you will endure pulling permits & having your contractors show up everyday to complete the work & then final inspections to get a CO. 

@Cathy Fitzwilliam Initial cashflow is not easy in San Diego, the higher rates make it that much more difficult but it is certainly possible with value add deals.  

This will cost time and money and can be just as difficult as moving away from home.If you want to make it you'll need to do some hard things and make some hard decisions.

i and others will happily answer any question you have. i invest in Pittsburgh, and in fact, I'd probably try to talk you OUT of investing in Pittsburgh if you proposed it, since you don't have a network here.investing out of state is certainly possible, but it's also way more difficult than advertised. 

We want to believe in the best in you however its been a difficult situation we have all found ourselves in.Being a stand up man, being human, and understanding you are destroying futures of families and people who had nothing but good intentions to work with you.

I am under the impression it is very difficult to get lenders to finance new builds especially spec builds.

There are only a handful of these and they are much more difficult to find.

(I guess that's what the $3K to $4K deposit is for)(3) Is it difficult to find private money @ 12% over 5 years to fund these deals?

I don’t think well maintained, well run properties that have rents at or close to market value should ever be that difficult to sell.

That said, even with photos, comping homes in Detroit proper is extremely difficult.