I recommend selecting an investment city based on the following criteria.Key Criteria for Choosing an Investment CityRents Must Outpace InflationFinancial freedom depends on rental income growing faster than inflation.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history and income extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.The City of Detroit has 183 Neighborhoods we’ve analyzed.DM us if you’d like to discuss this logical approach in greater detail!

Natural appreciation usually takes holding the property for at least a few years (just depending on what the RE market does going forward).  

Hi John,Welcome to the community!

Just make sure the numbers still work for your goals.3.

Quote from @Ryan McKay: Quote from @John Underwood: ...We just bought a property with 5k down and owner financing the rest at zero percent.

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

If I read the story correctly, your client did not report rental income.

I cold call and go direct to the seller and I have a 3 person team that pretty much just calls all day long for me.

Either way I wouldn't do one in your area that wasn't driven into the ground.