Recognizing that the city is completely different block-to-block, I've been making regular trips at different times of day to check out prospective areas. 

@Matthew Irish-JonesYup, so, problem is- Cozy is working with Apartments.com, which is blocked outside the US...

I know returns in these areas are going to be much less then what I am getting in Michigan but can they crack a 1.5% in a decent neighborhood if I buy the worse house on a good block? 

Looking for some experienced assistance to help me through a negotiation for a 3 unit block apartment building built in the 70's with a slight sloping in the floor-plates towards the centre of the structure.

This is not perfect as you will not know if a owner has some dates blocked for personal use vs being rented.

Short term the properties stay in mint condition virtually all the time, the maintenance is half of that in long term (biggest surprise to me), all of the legal headaches of long term are gone ( no evictions, bad checks, collections, security deposit disputes, etc.).Nobody making meth in the bathtub, no tenant not cutting the grass, no cars on blocks in the front yard, etc.

The location is decent , a block to the left is a nice neighborhood , a block to the right , not as nice.

Lots of unexpected road blocks with every flip that you likely won't be prepared for until you come across them.

If you get yourself a SFH w/ a finished basement (with a separate entrance), you can block of the connection point and you've got yourself a noncomplying duplex. 

This would be me and my business partners first flip, we got the home for a great price, however, it’s cinder block construction which we know nothing about.