Extended family is in SoCal, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, so that's not really a deciding factor. 

I was having issues getting a loan as well for my property due to the amount and me buying while I was stationed in Japan. what lender did you do with?

For example, Japan, tends to be this way. 

@Derek HornHey Derek, will you continue investing in this area or in Japan?

I am currently living in Japan and looking get a house in the Warrensburg, MO area.

My question uses details about real estate investment in Japan, but I am looking for general advice based on, hopefully consistent, basic principles of investing in real estate.

Of course, let’s hope we are not the path of Japan where it’s low / negative interest rates for decades.....

It's based on cash.While most investors try to buy houses for zero down and get 100 year mortgages like they're in Japan, I like to pay everything down.

But, as a point of interest, right now many investors from Singapore are investing in properties in Japan for affordability and high yield. 

I don't know if there is a unified theory as to why Detroit ended up where it is now, but I would say it's a combination of (1) over-reliance on a single industry; (2) some epic battles between that single industry and the union; (3) emergence of the automobile industries in countries like Japan; and (4) terrible race relations.