The midwest can be a fairly lucrative and moderately safe place to invest your money, but you still have to protect yourself by purchasing the right kinds of properties in the right types of areas.

(FRED Economic Research site)Correlations were (for those unfamiliar perfect correlations are either +1 or -1, a 0 being no correlation):- Mortgage Rate to % Median Income = -.55 (Moderate)- House Price to Mortgage Rate = -.89 (Strong)- House Price to % Median Income = .84 (Strong)- Monthly Mortgage to % Median Income = .98 (almost perfect)This chart is not inflation adjusted, but does give a sense of when would have been a good time to buy versus not if you go by the variance from the trendline. 06-07 = worst on chart, '11 = pretty darn good. 

Not to mention it has been so much easier getting bank financing for a well-known QSR brand than a smaller FSR concept that serves alcohol - what a headache that was...

(I typically go for replacement costs with moderate deductibles.)  

.- Floor coverings can have a wide spread of cost... as a general rule, does it cost more to install cheap vinyl/carpet/tile than it does using moderately priced material?

@Cassidy Burns Baltimore is a good market for cash flow, location matters as usual, but you can create a good cash flow with a moderate priced house.

I PMd Jon the moderator and he advised that my tone should be "this is how to accomplish this" which is what I thought I did above.Thanks,Duane.

I'm talking about moderate rise in value, with lots of activity, both from investors and retail.Hillsborough County (Tampa) has between 1.25 and 1.5 million people.

.- Class C = Properties that are in low to moderate income or blue collar neighborhoods.

You would be better off with your money in REITs or other types of RE investments that offer a greater upside with moderate risk, in which you are a passive investor.