Not a problem, I love to try to help anyone looking to move to this enigmatic city of ours [[I'm hoping to be able to buy sometime this spring/summer myself)

I definitely understand the desire to be near downtown and have been looking around there myself. Now naturally the best bargains/neighborhoods are often near the outskirts of the city but you should still be able to find something that suits you within a reasonable proximity from downtown [[lets say a bikeable distance. I love hitting the bars downtown but i hate having to stay sober enough to drive afterwards!

One thing I might mention to help your search is to check out trulia dot com which allows you to see listings by neighborhood and see some former sale prices for those properties. [[I kid you not many of the place I've seen have sold in the 150k-200k range a year or two ago and are now 1/10th that price!)

Unfortunately I can't give any real advice about the livability/safety of SW detroit in general since I haven't lived there. I do however have family that lives there [[and has no desire to leave....in delray no less!) I agree that SW has a lot to offer including:

*close to downtown
*surprisingly strong retail along w. vernor [[especially for good grocery stores!)
*lots of groups working to improve SW
*finally, the new bagley pedestrian bridge is terrific and now allows easy crossing from corktown to hubbard farms on foot or bike
*the population density and abundance of families; the hispanic population has, IMO, really improved and stabilized the area compared to a few decades ago.

As I understand the biggest drawback of of SW are gangs which are more common that in many other parts of the city [[especially hispanic gangs) Now I'm not sure how much of a threat they pose if you're not giving them trouble etc but its worth noting. My impression though, is that street smarts go a long way here and I think the world would be better off when we all work to avoid making enemies.

And definitely check out the villages! I say from experience [[I went to their event a few months ago and was incredibly impressed by the residents from the area) It's reasonably close to downtown and very friendly but a littler pricier [[keep your eye on trulia though, some bargains can be found)

Now another option is the riverfront [[though this assumes that you're ok with owning a condo instead of a house. Here you can find some rock bottom prices on awesome condos overlooking the river and close to downtown [[another hint, try google real estate search) I've seen condos for 20-30k that were quite tempting.

Parts of the new center area are worth a look too. While if you head too far north the area gets pretty sad the parts closer to WGB/fisher building can often be cheap and very close to midtown and downtown.

Well thats about it for now, I almost forgot another reason why people lose in the detroit real estate game. I totally agree with detroitpole buy a place to live in, not as an investment. While I'm optimistic about the future its hardly the city to make watertight investments. I discourage people from buying in the city unless they believe in a better future for it, anyone buying to make a quick buck is likely to be dissapointed. I'm also sure you know you'll be paying more in taxes/insurance than most suburbs but when you find a great place for pocket change you can still be dollars ahead

cheers!