As you well know, the foreclosure rates there are staggering and the city overall is an extremely poor place in terms of economics (mostly due to the highly incompetent mayor & his constituents).

As an appraiser I take it extremely seriously.

It is very easy to believe what someone tells you about a development or a property only to be disappointed when it does not happen.

Over-reachingSwinging for the bleachers in high-risk, home-run-type deals that require more capital or expertise than you have is a sure recipe for disappointment, frustration, and can end in disaster.

Our future looks extremely bright and growing.

Biz Brokers are huge scumbags who will con you to try and get their commission - they are truly snake oil salesman... if you do buy a biz do extreme investigation before you buy and know exactly what your getting into - hope this helps

I've been researching Real Estate for some time now off and on, once I came across site, I've been extremely motivated to try and begin the 1st steps to purchasing rental properties in my area.

Thanks very much Jon, and I'm glad you brought up financing - I forgot to.I was very disappointed in the financing options that were available.

High end properties are harder to cash flow but are a much better speculative play because their values rise the most, sometimes astronomically, in an up market.I try to find blue collar properties in the middle that I can purchase at a big discount to gain instant equity, cash flow pretty well, and might even have a chance to appreciate tremendously in a market upswing.My opinion is why risk your money on an upperclass rental that has the extreme possibility of negative cash flow, especially if you're just beginning your investing career?

And, I'm don't mean to sound like I'm bragging at all, but I just know the pricing in my area extremely well.