I have been to the 3-day and it is a well run event, by professional persons. 

You'll want to build your team up with local resources to where you're looking to invest before you start buying as well.

Well this makes me proud !!!

What you would normally want to do is establish your own escrow account for Repairs/Maintenance, as well as Capital Expenditures for your rental.  

If you can't get cash out, consider the likelihood of your market appreciating further/bouncing back from where the market currently is, as well as whether you can do any value add to your properties to boost their values.

There are a few definite rules I follow when evaluating deals, as well as vetting sponsors/GP’s.

If it doesn't, you will need to have it inspected after closing - but by that time, you might as well have the contractor assess everything that needs to be done and re-allocate the budget if necessary.

I assume the lease also has costs you can charge back to remove the materials from the property as well.

And of course other income like salary income can also make up for the negative cash flow as well. 

Depending on the area I know people have success on craigslist as well but can be hit or miss