Finding Undervalued homes

[Eric Kluth]

My partners and I are newbies starting out in the RE Investing game. We do have financing in place to buy a single family home to fix up and flip in our area. We also have a realtor working with us who works hard, but has little experience in RE Investing or dealings in such.

We have been looking at listings for awhile now with no luck. I do hear that good deals are often found through word of mouth (networking), and that these homes are acquired at a big discount before they make the listing. Now that they're a lot of REO properties out there, and if one strategy would be to specifically try to find a REO property at a discount. Would it be wise to talk with a REO Specialists who might guide us along? Would she be able to help us find a good deal on a property?

We have been going to an investment club in our area to network and learn. What would be other ways we could build our network so that we come across properties that can be acquired at a big discount.

Thanks to all who reply.