The economy here has done very well compared to most other places 5% unemployment rate and while yes the job people want may be hard to get most people still have jobs.

Is there any way to compare prices of homes with and without it in your area?

I have no experience with the software but here are a few forum posts comparing and reviewing it:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/44375-freedom-soft-anyone-plan-on-purchasing-it-http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/91576-would-like-opinions-on-freedomsoft-program-offeringhttp://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/67210-realeflow-open-road-3x-versus-freedomsoft-vs-sims-20http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/79/topics/83761-my-review-of-investorpro-vs-realeflow-vs-freedomsoft

I thought it would help give a certain element of legitimacy.

Jon, thank you for your suggestion.I did check the rentometer, I think websites like zillow and rentometer are getting smarter day after day, however, they still don't have the capability of picking the comparables based on the same school district, which makes their estimate totally off.I don't know if it's a good idea or not...

One unique thing about Detroit compared to other large municipalities is that Michigan's municipal funding system is completely whacked.

But this is a 2000 sqft house built in 40's probably, and comparable analysis shows that this is a fair price.Which price is the fair price?

Make sure you have 6-9 months of reserve to live and then make the leap as doing something for an hour or 2 doesn't even compare to dedicating a full day to doing it.

All the best to you and maybe we'll connect sometime to compare notes since we'll be working in the same market and at similar levels in our REI careers.

It's not quite apples to apples for me this time since my last property was bought in 2010 when the market was a lot less competitive, but *knock on wood*, it's looking like deal-wise this one will be comparable to rental #1 (the duplex), and be better than #2.