How to reverse-engineer an offer?

[John Henry]

Hi Everyone,

New investor here... yet to buy my first property (with roughly $50k cash available) but looking feverishly for my first deal.

If I've done my homework, then I know that good deals are hard to come by. So what gives? It seems like almost every deal I've seen is good enough. They all seem to cashflow (based on the numbers given)

What makes the difference between a good deal and a great deal? 

What method can I use to come up with a reasonable offer on a property I'm looking at? 

There must be some way to reverse-engineer the numbers so I can determine what the maximum number I'm willing to pay for a property is.

Thanks in advance!

JH