I don't know if this has been discussed, but it's something I think most would want to know about.

The city of Detroit has this land bank, and you can buy houses for as little as $500 or $1000 (USD). The reason it exists is because the city had a rough time economically, and many people left. This resulted in tons of abandoned homes, which became violent drug dens. After a high profile crime, a millionaire partnered with the city to buy up these places and offer them cheap, so the right sorts of people could acquire them and revitalize the area.

These homes are obviously not in pristine condition, so it's only for people who either can do carpentry/electrical/plumbing/HVAC, or who have friends/family that will do it/help for a fraction of the cost. But it's worth it because you can rehab these places for like $30,000 (give or take) and you'll have a 2-4 bedroom house or rental property with no mortgage.

These neighborhoods are not as dangerous as you would think, but you do have to be concerned about things like people stealing building materials out of the place while you're renovating. So that means you would have to sleep in it while you do work. However, Detroit people are some of the most welcoming and appreciative people. They truly are thankful to see good people come into the community and fix up these houses.

Now, I wouldn't say the Detroit job market is amazing, but there are opportunities and things are definitely improving. Lots of people are coming to the area and it's experiencing significant growth. There are some other trade-offs because it's the Midwest, a smaller city, and etc. But that's a matter of personal preference. Not my style, but some people would love it (especially if you work remotely and have a pretty good salary).

Here's the official website of the city's land bank: https://buildingdetroit.org/

Also, there's other places that have a similar program, but I think those places have more competition with commercial investors, and not quite as many properties in decent areas. Still worth a look though.

There's a popular tv show that shows what this is like. They show everything except the financial part, like having to rip off the side of the house and cleaning excrement off the walls. Now, these guys spend significantly more than needed (interior design) because they're trying to sell properties. But most people don't need all that, whether living in it or using it as a rental. If you just "white box" it and throw some flooring down, you don't need to spend what they do:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5N5hSmI8Uc

It's harder to find properties this cheap anymore because people are jumping on these houses.

Here's some more rehabs from that show:

$6500 house

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UDRo8cs40g

$15,000 house

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbaJ4bw8Rz8