Ama - get your income up so you can save some money to put into your first deal.

No state taxes, high appreciation, Economic and Job growth, Population growth, etc. 

So if you buy a 5 bedroom house and rent the spare 4 bedrooms = you can still sell tax-free under the 121 (you just pay back depreciation) If you buy a duplex and rent 1/2 and live in 1/2.

Here’s a breakdown of my numbers:Primary Residence:Estimated Value: $340,000Remaining Mortgage: $187,000HELOC Balance: $76,000 (fully utilized)Remaining Equity: $77,000Rental Property #1:Estimated Value: $110,800Remaining Mortgage: $60,000Equity: $50,800Cash Flow: $375/monthRental Property #2:Estimated Value: $215,000Remaining Mortgage: $115,000Equity: $100,000Cash Flow: $350/monthOther Income:$1,500/monthMy DilemmaI'm considering taking out a Home Equity Loan (HEL) on my primary residence to:Pay off the HELOC (eliminating the variable rate risk).Use the remaining cash for a down payment on another rental property (~$150K purchase price with 20% down).Estimated cash flow: ~$150/month in year one.Alternatively, I could save up for the down payment instead of leveraging more debt.

I have a template that I use that includes projected income and projected expenses and I run the calculation myself, but if you like ones that do it all for you in addition to what has been mentioned above AirDNA has one as well.

This will generate a pile of extra income that you can utilize for the next one.  

Once you close on your property:- You need to get a Phila tax IDhttps://www.phila.gov/services/payments-assistance-taxes/tax...- Then you need to register for a commercial activity licensehttps://www.phila.gov/services/permits-violations-licenses/g...- Once you have a commerical activity license you can finally get your rental licensehttps://www.phila.gov/services/permits-violations-licenses/g...All of the above will be done using the eClipse online portal systemIf your property is built before 1978:The system will kick back your application and you will not be able to get a rental license until you get a Lead Safe test.This is when you will hire a licensed 3rd party to come out and doing a lead test for you.

Detroit is a hot investor market right now because there is opportunity for not only income producing assets, but there are plenty of value-add properties available.

you just input the address and it import the information which has bedrooms, bathrooms, and square footage. just be careful with the insurance and property tax data.

I did all my other due diligence like asking for paystubs, W2s, Tax returns, Employment verification, bank statements etc etc and did not see any red flags overall.