@Jamila Sandy unless you are absolutely certain that the area is undergoing gentrification, I would avoid buying in a rough area.

Currently undergoing Phase 1 which will be a subdivision of ~30 parcels.

Purchase price: $195,000 Cash invested: $3,000 I purchased this property to House Hack it with my son currently living in it while it undergoes renovations.

This property is undergoing a huge full gut rehab top to bottom, new mechanicals, bath additions, finished basement, you name it.

You can google 50 caliber shot youtubes to see impact of shock waves and you will see little or no impact.

I enjoyed learning about the underwriting while undergoing the due diligence process of securing a deal. 

The only open units have been undergoing renovations.  

RE has recently taken off and went from flipping 5 houses over 5 years to now having 2 rentals, 1 new construction home, 9 flips, 36 acres under contract for major development, 29 acre site for senior living cottages next to hospital, and a 7 unit apartment in a coastal town here in Texas which will under go a major over haul.

I have seen homes in my area that do not undergo a full remodel that sell for as much as brand-new homes. 

In the US real estate + ancillary is about 25% of GDP, so if we shrink that by any percent it will have seismic shock waves in the rest of the economy.