Not surprising that you are only getting comments from people who want to sell you something. 

Unexpected Costs: Real estate has a lot of additional costs that aren’t always obvious.

You’d be surprised at how willing people are to share their knowledge towards newbies.

I'm surprised that your agent is ok with it.

This strategy, however, carries more risk and requires market knowledge to avoid unexpected costs or longer holding periods.If you want steady cash flow, go with the garage conversion.

If  you don't get estoppel letters, you could be in for some nasty surprises.

When I first visited I was surprised at how undeveloped it was.

This often comes as a huge surprise very late in the process of a sale.Sure, the title company may have screwed up (they may have even listened to the borrower assuring them no, I don't have a 2nd) but ultimately the debt is for the original borrower to pay.

The property negative cash flows 400 dollars a month (not counting unexpected repairs), but I gain about $15K in equity each year paying down the mortgage. 

Now you are over $2k and only bringing in $2100… If you don’t care about the cash flow at the moment and have a good income that can support an unexpected large expense then you should be ok.