I see a lot more reasons for a regular Joe to choose to live in Cleveland than in Chicago or any other northern major city (cost of living, anyone?).

That way someone less experienced in fire damage properties will possibly consider it if you have a contractor already lined up.Don't use a contractor that doesn't regularly do fire damage homes.

I'd like to start here and work backwards through a few points I think worth mentioning.Brandon: repeated and systematic mailings are required in order for the marketing machine you build to spit out deals on a regular basis.

First you need to know what the local section 8 housing agency is paying out for the type of property you have in your area.Voucher averages might be higher, the same, or lower than what you could get renting to a regular tenant.Talk to local investors that deal with section 8 there and see how the agency performs on payments, not screwing things up, and if the case managers or on point or lazy.Wouldn't put really nice things in for a section 8 tenant.

LISTEN where the shooting, murders, and violent crimes are happening on a regular basis.

I thought it was a regular seller at first because the ad doesn't give indication that it's an REO, but then I found out otherwise.

Working a regular job equals safety and responsibility -- Investing in Real Estate equals high risk and a irresponsible gambler's mentality.  

I would love to hear any success...or not-so-successful...stories from any ATX or regular ol' TX folks.

Although I see these issues on a regular basis, my wife and I are just paying off our student loans so we will have the ability to invest on our own.  

Hey Jeremy, we are a lender and get wholesale deals on a regular basis that we pass to our clients.