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Detroit · Single-Family Rental Portfolio

Three Detroit houses. A 60% total return in under three years.

How Great Lakes PMG took a three-property Detroit portfolio from purchase to a $92,500 gain, with $77,000 in rent collected along the way, in under three years.

PORTFOLIO: 3 single-family homes · Detroit, MI · HOLD: 2023 – 2026

59.9%

Portfolio ROI

~25%/yr

Annualized Return

$92,552

Total Gain

$76,999

Rent Collected

1.60×

Equity Multiple

Properties

3 Homes

Purchase Price

$95,000

Total Invested

$154,447

Value Today

$170,000

The Situation

One investor, three Detroit houses, one playbook.

Between September 2023 and September 2024, an investor acquired three single-family homes on Detroit's west side, for a combined $95,000. None were ready to rent; each needed a full renovation before it could collect a dollar.

The owner wanted Detroit rentals that performed without the operational burden. Great Lakes PMG renovated all three, placed tenants, and has managed every door since, turning $95,000 of purchase contracts into a portfolio that has collected $77,000 in rent and is worth roughly $170,000 today.

"Three houses. One playbook. A $92,500 gain, with every door still owned and still earning."

The Three Deals

Every property, side by side.

Each home was bought low, renovated to the income standard, and tenanted. Here is how all three have performed.

Property	Invested	Rent Collected	Value Today	Total Gain	ROI
72xx ArtesianAcquired Sep 2024 · 1 tenancy	$46,062.69	$15,250.00	$55,000.00	$24,187.31	52.5%
15xxx WoodinghamAcquired Sep 2023 · 2 tenancies	$60,131.86	$27,259.68	$65,000.00	$32,127.82	53.4%
15xxx InvernessAcquired Sep 2023 · 1 tenancy	$48,252.81	$34,490.00	$50,000.00	$36,237.19	75.1%
Portfolio Total	$154,447.36	$76,999.68	$170,000.00	$92,552.32	59.9%

The Numbers

Every dollar in, every dollar out.

Combined figures from the purchases, the renovation invoices, and the rent ledgers across all three homes.

Capital Invested

Purchase priceThree acquisitions · 2023–2024	$95,000.00
Initial renovationFull rehab of all three homes	$45,494.55
Repairs & turns sinceService requests & upkeep across the portfolio	$13,952.81
Total Cash Invested	$154,447.36

Value Generated

Rent collected4 tenancies across 3 homes	$76,999.68
Current market valueThree renovated, occupied homes	$170,000.00
Total Value Realized + Held	$246,999.68

Return on Investment

Strong on a conservative valuation. Stronger at market.

Three separate deals, averaging well under three years in the hold, yet the combined return is already firmly positive, before assuming a single dollar of market appreciation.

Conservative

Total return, homes valued at cost + renovation

40.8%

$63,047 gain. Values all three homes at exactly what they cost to buy and renovate, zero appreciation assumed, and the portfolio is still up 41%.

At Market · Headline

Total return at the comparable-sales value

59.9%

$92,552 gain. Rent collected plus $170,000 in market value, less all capital invested. A 1.60× equity multiple.

Capital Recovered

Cash already returned through rent

~50%

$76,999 collected. Half of every dollar invested across the portfolio has already come back as rent, with all three homes still owned.

Across an average hold of roughly 2.4 years, the portfolio's headline return works out to about 25% per year. Three separate deals, three renovations, one repeatable playbook.

Market Context

Why Detroit, and why now.

Detroit's long market recovery turned its single-family housing stock into one of the most accessible cash-flow opportunities in the country, for investors who pair a low entry price with a team that can execute on the ground.

Low entry cost

Single-family homes can still be acquired for a fraction of the cost in comparable U.S. metros, the basis advantage that drives long-run return.

Steady rental demand

Consistent demand for renovated, well-managed single-family rentals keeps turn times short and occupancy high.

Repeatable at scale

The same acquire-renovate-manage playbook runs across one house or a dozen, which is what turns a single deal into a portfolio.

The GL PMG Playbook

What produced this return, three times over.

A combined $95,000 in purchases opened these deals. The four things below made every one of them perform.

Acquire at the right basis

Buying well is the single biggest driver of long-run ROI. A disciplined entry price leaves room for everything that follows.

Renovate to the income standard

Each rehab is scoped to make the home rent-ready and command solid market rent. Spending where it creates income, not where it just looks nice.

Place screened tenants, fast

Tenants were placed within weeks of each renovation, so every home started earning almost immediately rather than sitting vacant.

Manage for the full hold

Turns, repairs, and re-leasing across every door, handled locally so the owner collects the return without the operational drag.

Your capital. Our market. The same playbook.

Great Lakes PMG helps investors acquire, renovate, and manage cash-flowing Detroit rentals, start to finish. This portfolio is just three of 800+ real-estate deals we have managed over the past 20 years.

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Great Lakes Property Management Group, LLC · Detroit, Michigan · greatlakespmg.com