(not counting the renovation) I think it's tough to find a deal like this in Chicago on the North Side, where you can sleep peacefully at night and not worry about someone breaking in, or a drunk and disorderly, including being located in a  highly rated school district...I understand appreciation, and gambling on neighborhood gentrification isn't a primary concern of mine, this is a risk-free, safe return play.

Banking on appreciation is like gambling.  

Having 650k cash and not knowing anything about the market is a complete gamble, not an investment strategy.

Hey guys I’m 16 and living in the UK, I’ve listened to the bp podcasts for some time and I’m learning more about investing constantly.

@Zach Bollman I am not sure of UK prices but both tax and insurance cost seem low to me and I live in an area of the US with super cheap property taxes.Rents of $495 seem super low as well especially for a student rental area.

The only gamble is if this tenant is a fluke and the space is in a location or a configuration that a replacement tenant would be difficult.

Yesterday it came out that they're now possibly proposing the site for a future casino, if the Georgia legislature approves 3 casino/gambling sites for Georgia at the next session.

But if you're going to use all cash and therefore gamble large sums of money at least promise me you won't try to juggle family, a flip, and a full time job.

No one can answer if interest rates will go up or down in the next 2 years, but if you had to gamble you'd gamble up since they're already near historical lows. 

Just my opinion but it is safer than gambling in stocks, I call it gambling because I do not have the time nor the drive to learn anything about them.