Is this a Good way to Narrow Search for 1st Rehab/Flip?

[Charles Montgomery]

So, Im playing around with things on the internet, trying to come up with a strategy to not waste an RE's time by going to 100 different homes that would not work to begin with. So, I am trying to build a strategy that maximizes the chance that one of the homes we look at will be one I would reasonably make an offer on.

Ive been playing with this for a week and here is what I have come up with. Using Realty Trac, I select my farm area and use the map mode. From there, I select Bank owned properties and properties that have sold in the past 3 months.

From there, I can see neighborhood by neighborhood whether the REO prices are favorably les than retail. Im comparing REO and retail prices based on the House Flipping book by J Scott. Further, I can check bedrooms and other things to make sure I am comparing similar properties and price points.

With this, I can select 20 or so REO properties that are favorable for purchase and go visit them with an RE agent and, I know that I have a better chance of being able to have success finding a good REO to start with. This would be my 1st attempt at real estate investing of any kind.

Is this a good strategy?