Now I’m not saying Detroit doesn’t have its own separate set of pitfalls as do many cities and some can even be devastating to a novice or even an experienced investor but with a large and awesome boots on the ground team or army the city becomes your oyster.

Many lose money on their first one or two but then get it figured out.The common problems are overestimating the ARV, underestimating the rehab, and underestimating the completion time frame.

That is because most banks/lenders require to see that you have received that income from as low as 6-months to as high as 24-months (12-months is what is most common) before they will use that rental income to offset DTI. 

@Chris Mason  it was quite common in years past that local banks and credit unions would not loan on rentals to anyone who lived more than 100 miles from the property.. 

@Jeremy TaggartD property types are common in my area so being hands on would give me some extra confidence in taking it on.

You need to do an analysis of the common elements, their expected replacement values, and compare it to their budget and reserves.

An hourly billing model is common, however, I know a lot of tax pros that work with real estate investors bill on a non-hourly basis.

@Cassi Justiz is that a common practice, renting out appliances?

Reserves for sure, any product that would insure for a common occurrence like a vacancy has to have high premiums in order for them to make a profit. 

One thing there seems to be in common in every market is that everyone thinks "their market is different" lol.