There are more bad ones than good ones, so your chances of getting burned are at least as good as your chances of a smooth ride. 3.

My W2 gig is in this area and I’ve been riding it some.

@Darren Campbell @Jeff Moore - do both - accelerate the payments and save too.The loans are interest heavy in the begining portion - pay them down accelerated till the principal payment becomes the majority percentage in the payment (and it's up to you where that point is, personally, I would look for 75%+) and then let them ride since the rates are low and you are unlikely to get that low rate from anywhere now.

You are welcome to ride along as I turn a property start to finish.

Riding lawn mower conveys. 

As of know I'm just considering putting 25% down the old fashioned way.My question is, is there a smarter way for me to acquire the new property either with some kind of down payment altrenative or another kind of lending option. 

In your ads, I would have information about how it could be great for health science/medical students because of how close it is to the medical school, hospital, etc but also include other desirable features or major employers. (.5 miles to X hospital, 5 blocks to whatever great elementary school, ride your bike to X university!)

Your main concerns buying "before a recession" (as if anyone can actually predict the landing) is whether you have enough recession-proof income to ride out bumps and whether you can maintain renters at a reasonable tenancy and payment level if a flood of housing hits the market.

The best method is still the good old fashioned face to face interaction with like minded people.

I'm not super familiar with the Detroit market, other than the obvious zeitgeist knowledge that it was essentially abandoned for a while, so there is some opportunity in getting in 'at the bottom' and riding a new wave up.