I have heard conflicting things on this front, as some say "you can do your own research" but others talk about how this is a key way to get off market deals at a better price before they would hit the market.

If your lender worked hard for you, and you have a relationship with them, be considerate and do not do your refinance until you have hit the 6 month mark.

If it helps, put yourself in the position of the PL.What happens if the PL wires the 80% to your business account and then you get hit by a bus? 

In contrast, I've been in deals that sandbagged on their projections and they start hitting proforma rents in month 1. 

If you win, they want you to win and they will set you up to bid high and fail.If you are talking about online actions, those come with a 5-10 percent buyer premium and often get ghost bid up and relisted until it hits their reserve.

@Rick Albert hit the nail on the head with that one! 

Direct mail works, but you typically need to hit them 3-5 times or be following up with cold calling.  

There is just too much competition.If you're willing to invest heavily into theming you can force cashflow, but even that is going to be tight unless you really hit it out of the park with your theming. 

My out-of-state clients are successfully finding deals here that hit the 1% rule and are positive cash flowing.

And most are all cash deals.Jonathan you hit the nail in the head!