llow: That article is talking about the actual city of Detroit, a place I would stay FAR away from. I would be working in the suburbs, which aren't quite the same.
DDDDave/gar1976: I'm not sure I agree. Real estate is no liquid, nor are the profits on sale of real estate <30 days after the date of sale. If you reinvest your earning from a home sale into other real estate, your funds are never liquid and are not taxable.
As for everyone, thank you all for the advice. I'm not going into this blindly. I have friends in RE that have talked me through some of it. My father-in-law is an attorney with a great deal of tax knowledge. I understand the risks involved and know that nothing is going to just fall into my lap.
guccilvr - your half million dollar home example. What exactly are you trying to say? I certainly wouldn't buy a home without getting it looked at first. I would NEVER buy a home that required more than 10% of the value in repairs. Like i said, I have explicit numbers in mind for profit, max initial investment, fees and the like. I know it's not easy, I know there's a lot of effort to put in.
