Quote Originally Posted by fryar View Post
Yes, work with the community. If you believe your background may be, in various ways, quite different from that of a native Detroiter, working with/through locals would be a good way to make sure you're getting good tenants. That's what I would do if I had money to invest in Detroit real estate - frankly, I might have to make do with government subsidized rental income, which is probably not the highest, and I wouldn't necessarily have the experience to identify which tenant is a good prospect, but I'm guessing some local church groups would be able to help with that, especially if they got a community center or something out of it, though there could be an issue there if a potential tenant felt discriminated against for religious reasons. But my point is that working with locals is not at all a bad idea, since they know the lay of the land and the ways of the locals, so to speak.

I translate Japanese,Korean,Russian,Arabic and Chinese.I found out at a young age that I had a natural ability to learn languages and I spent years teaching myself and taking classes.Right now there is a major demand for translation in those languages so I am making a decent wage while I pay my way though school.I might well consider quitting my nursery part time job and start translating full time.I only took the nursery job because I have an interest in native plant species.I could easily afford to live in Detroit but I am not a tough person and moving into such a town would be a a huge step to take since I would be alone.

I think that contacting local churches would be a great idea to find tennants.I do not have a discriminatory bone in my body and I do not mind people of other faiths at all as my family is very diversive when it comes to religions and I myself happen to be LDS which is not really popular in other parts of the US.

Building a community center sounds like a really good idea because it would attract good people who are trying to make a better life for themselves and it is those very people that I am trying to attract.I would even consider paying to give on the job training to those who do not have the skill set currently to renovate homes or to work on a farm.It would give people who would not otherwise have that kind of opportunity a chance to learn and earn a higher wage which is part of my plan.Plus if they turn out to be reliable I can contact them for more work in the future.Establishing a good reputation in the community is also important.If the neighbors care for my cause then I will have a much higher chance to succeed.