And no, I have no interest in investing elsewhere right now.There are downsides to renting by the room:a) you carry the utilities;b) As Dawn mentioned, you end-up dealing with roommate drama as each roomer has a relationship with you and not with each other.c) Wear and tear on your property will be greater and it's more challenging to hold someone accountable for damages, especially to common areas or chattel.  

Only downside is we have to pay interest on that money that is in escrow and we are not using currently which is not too bad.Maybe try talking with your portfolio lender (if you have one, this might be a good time to look for one) to see if they can accommodate your request.

I fail to see a single downside.

And other downsides I may not be thinking about.

Some downsides I have in mind: harder to find properties with a good ratio of bathrooms to bedrooms, more expensive to buy a large property upfront, higher monthly maintenance costs (I would probably pay for utilities and communal furnishings), and interpersonal conflicts between the residents. 

The down side is to manage the cases were the tenant walks away from a balance due, forfeiting the contents. 

Even if you convince a seller to finance things for you there is downside risk that requires capital.

The downside is that you have to become comfortable learning to vet sponsors (which not everyone can do) and will pay a management fee.

You can find great ROI's in all of those areas and avoid some of the potential downsides you might experience in Detroit and Flint if you are not a local with eyes on the property regularly. 

The downside is of course, that houses cost more.