[trainsplanes]

Are the houses in safe neighborhoods? If there are cheap houses in a city and nobody's buying, there's a good reason for that. Carefully taken pictures online may look okay, but people in many cities know to steer clear of specific areas.

And regarding repairs, I've been to houses that have decent photos online, but upon entering, they're clearly rotting out. It'd be cheaper to knock the house down and start again.

[ceilingcorner]

There are plenty of decent houses in safe areas across the Midwest for $50-100k.

[notesinthefield]

The houses OP pointed out are not. In fact im certain the first one they saw is actually a block away from a spot where regular shootings happen.