Does that sound like a smart plan? 

I’m beginning my journey into real estate investing with the goal like many of you of generating passive income and discovering financial freedom without having to rely on a “day-job” for much longer, so I can travel more and spend more time with my young kids/family.

However, in general it sounds like a typical holdover tenant scenario.

A duplex in the $100-200k range with a target CoC return of 8-12% is definitely within reach, especially in some of the emerging neighborhoods.In terms of areas, you might want to explore neighborhoods like Bagley, East English Village, and parts of Grandmont-Rosedale.

Ideally, I would like the old contractor to finish/fix his work that they did but Im not sure if it's worth the hassle given our time constraints.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history and income extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.The City of Detroit has 183 Neighborhoods we’ve analyzed.PM us if you’d like to discuss this logical approach in greater detail!

Landlord can require tenants to be responsible for separately metered utilities, so can avoid waste.Landlord can get annual small increases in rent.NegativesMost of us don’t treat something we get for free the same way we treat something we’ve worked hard to obtain.S8 applicants claim “broke” and don’t like to pay application feesSame goes for security depositsS8 tenants, in our experience, tend to cause more property damage than non-S8 tenants. - Make sure you get a security deposit and perhaps do a surprise inspection of their current home.S8 requires an inspection (mostly health & safety) before approving a lease and then annually thereafter. - Not something most landlords taking care of their properties have to worry about.There are limits to clauses they allow in your lease.

This search term will more likely attract potential home buyers.As we all know, targeting buyers can be a waste of money when competing in this competitive market where each investor/wholesaler is fighting for the next best distressed seller.Now, what else is this advertiser doing wrong with their ad?

Websites like LandWatch or Land and Farm can also be good for spotting some options, although off-market deals usually come from direct connections.

Or, if all of this seems like too much or doesn't make any sense at all-- just call a plumber :)