It’s 100% worth it to keep your eyes peeled and to move very quickly if a deal comes up, especially on the fringes of those areas.

The do it yourself books mention many non-conventional ways like seller finance, tax deed, auction, etc. but it seems like instances where that works out are more the exception to the rule and are extremely rare, pretty much on the fringe of extremely rare possibility. 

I got lucky because I saw if you are going to buy in a rough area that it is important to buy on the outskirts of the rough area, I did that by dumb luck as we are close to an interstate and on the fringe of the rough area.

Unlicensed brokers, acting as fringe operators skirting the laws have nothing to lose.

If you want to work an emerging market play, you want to: 1)  find the fringe of the good and the bad. 2)  buy a property among a  group of other landlords who support revitalization OR are neutral on the topic. 3) implement the best practices for revitalization in the correct order.

Unlicensed brokers, acting as fringe operators skirting the laws have nothing to lose.

It seems as though it has potential, but is it a little too fringe to the west side?

I invest in the fringes of Detroit, as far west as Inkster and as far east as Eastpoint and as far north as Pontiac.

If you are brave enough to buy in a fringe area you can do pretty well.

It's a definite fringe benefit to the profession.