Methods for analyzing deals

[David Cowan]

I'm noticing it takes a lot of time to analyze deals. If I come home with 10 houses I've found while driving for dollars, it takes me 3- 5 hours to research the properties for comps and locate owners. Seems like it's better to locate prospective seller first and then make the phone call before spending the time to collect all the rest of the data. I spend a lot of time analyzing the data because I've noticed that a lot of wholesalers aren't very good at picking deals because they don't thoroughly research the properties.  For example, I found a property on craigslist and called the number just to find that it was a wholesaler who had it under contract trying to sell it with only 75k spread, as a cash flowing rental property. Problem is the house has some permit issues with the units and is in mostly original condition and needs a good deal of work despite the fact that both units are rented out.

I had lots of questions about the property for which he had no answers. I had intended to refer him to an investor on my list if the numbers worked out. But, alas..they did not. Not as a rental..and not as a rehab for the price he contracted it for.

So...how long do you spend researching deals?