Newbie and the MLS

[Stan Krupowies]

I am a brand new investor looking for my first flip. I've looked at several properties I found on the MLS and have offered on three of them. All three went to highest and best and my highest wasn't high enough. There also don't seem to be very many REO's on the MLS so I'm thinking that the banks are putting them on the market slowly to increase demand and therefore selling price.

My question is, in this scenario, how do you win? You still want to make a profit of 15-20% and if the numbers don't work they don't work. I won't offer more than my numbers allow. 

Another question I have is, is it possible to go to the bank directly, before a property hits the MLS, and see if you can buy it that way? Is this frowned upon by the banks? If this is doable, how does one find the right person to speak to?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Stan