First deal advice please!

[BJ Brinkman]

Hi Folks,

Thanks in advance for your time and input. I'm looking for some 'big picture' help and could use any and all advice. I'm in my mid 20's, have about 30k cash saved up for an investment, and am looking to purchase a buy and hold rental house right out of the gate (with cash flow and decent appreciation if possible). My long term goal is to have 8-10 of these houses, with cash flow being the #1 goal.

The area I am looking into is offering 3br row houses in the 80-90k price range. The median household price is around 130, so I am looking at the lower tier houses. I'm not interested in doing any rehab and want the property just about ready to go. I can afford a 20% down payment and have about $12k in cash reserves (for myself, the house, etc).

I'm trying to nail down some exact rent numbers, but I am expecting a cash flow of around 200-220 a month (budgeting for 50% of rent roll for expenses, and hiring a property manager). The area I am looking in is low income working class (median household income is mid-40's, unemployment rate is around 7.5%). I'm being continuously cautioned by friends and family that I will be dealing with the 'riff-raff' of my state, have high turnover, and tons of headaches.

I'd like to ask those who have had (and even self-managed - this is a possibility) properties in low income areas, with higher crime rates than where you'd feel comfortable living, how their experiences have been. I'd like to go into this eyes wide open and plan for the worst. I plan on pricing the property slightly below market rate to have my pick of applicants, and screen thoroughly.

Thank you all so very much!