Conclusion, its just a rule of thumb; "The English phrase rule of thumb refers to a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation."

southern highland park neighborhood near a convenience store 10+ years ago was a sight to see.Northside has come a long long long way, but still you are going to be at least a few blocks from something not pleasant that for a while. 

There are numerous rules and caveats, but for now I'll explain the principle and depreciation.So one caveat is your mortgage payment.

Also down payments are smaller if the property is your principle residence and not just an "investment." 

Cash flow will be tight, especially on the higher end, but with depreciation expense and principle pay down, you should be able to make the numbers work.  

The offers vary but typically don’t eclipse those of other buyers but can be close.The main issue as to why we’ve never accepted an offer from them is that my sellers ALWAYS prefer an equivalent offer from someone who has seen the property, whereas clickinvest is all sight unseen.

Using the financial returns of your time spent, is restricted to just one year (or 2 or 3) is short sighted. 

It’s a 15 year loan that has $2,000/mo going to principle. 

My current payments on the seller-back loan are on an amortization schedule so much of the payments are going to pay down the principle so by the time I go to buy out the property out, the amount due will be roughly $517,432 in November 2023.

In hind sight I should have just upgraded to solid core doors.