Cleveland may be in the rust belt, and there may be a steady population decline attributed to that fact, but there are a bunch of stable industries in the area that makes it unlikely that Cleveland will have a rapid decline like Detroit.Anyways, let's see some major industries in Cleveland fail before we start calling it out as a potential Detroit.

@HAILEY ERSKINE Good for you, get the ducks in the row, start collecting 1) realtor, 2) real estate attorney, 3) cheap title search, 4) CPA, 5) Contractors (handymen, electricians, plumbers, roofers), 6) Insurance. 

When a tenant vacates or is evicted, does their renters insurance policy cover liability in a lawsuit for damages to the property caused by the tenant?

There may be potential title insurance claims here as well.

The carrying costs for the house are not cheap considering the interest payment, utilities, insurance, and taxes. 

A friend happened to stop by to check on the house and saw water coming out from every wall of the house.He called me right away, I called the insurance company (state farm), opened a claim, and contacted a local 24/7 restoration company who sent a team within 90 minutes.

It has been on the market for 134 days, so I may be able to negotiate a lower price if the seller is motivated.My down payment is 3%, and closing costs will be factored into the mortgage.The amount for principal, interest, property taxes, insurance, and mortgage insurance is around $740-$760/month.

For example: when you get an insurance, you have to make sure that they have accounted for this.

I service East Tennessee but would go farther afield if the opportunity was right.Factors like travel, equipment cost, insurance, FAA NAS (national airspace system) research for the prospective area, weather monitoring etc. all take time and money, so I turn down jobs regularly that expect bottom dollar.   

The good thing about these criteria is that they are mostly static as opposed to often changing.Population: Look for population to be steadily growing = increasing customers.Jobs: A stable job market = a stable tenant base.Supply: Too much product = increase in concessions / decrease in rental income to attract solid, long term tenants.Demand: Product type.