Cutting corners on maintenance limits your ability to attract good tenants and good tenants are the ONLY way to make consistent money.  

Truth be told I would love to get in that sweet spot where I realize annual losses after depreciation.My plan here is, and I am confirming my belief with some more marked due diligence, is to get into the park with no money down and to add value by increasing rents slowly and consistently, renting vacant lots, and adding homes and getting them rented. 

My understanding on how to do this - and how our mentors suggest we do it - is to have the wholesaler fee to be captured on the HUD at closing.

But I would add that at the price point some of these properties seem to be in, I'm not sure how much appreciation you're really going to get.And to me, thats one of the big 4 ways that real estate makes you money.1) Equity capture - when you buy at a discount.2) Net Rental income. 3) Principal paydown.4) AppreciationTechnically, there's one more - tax benefits - in that you can use depreciation to shield a lot of your rental income from taxes.  

Though the concept has taken off, it still hasn't captured enough market share to force national lenders to adjust their approach, but it cannot be discounted. 

It will also be harder to finance, even if the use is consistent zoning.If you are new to Philly and/or you're not an experienced investor, be careful.  

Maybe an area that has consistent job growth will help raise the values of even these lower priced houses? 

Of greater importance is:Don't get sucked into D class being great cash flow its only great cash flow on paper generally... the reason its D class is you WILL NOT get consistent cash flow.. that's what makes it D class or one of the attributes to the Classification of these assets from A to FI call them paper tigers... :)

One thing I am consistent with is I always manage to upset someone with my drive.     

I think for the most part the "numbers" and their conclusions match pretty well with what I (and many others here on BP) expected, now that their portfolio is "stabilized" and they have some consistent operational history and have seen some tenant turns.