Amateur mistake by me!

What should my target locations be as an amateur rental property investor ?

You have some good questions but a little more specifics about your strategy would help as well.Rockford is attempting to attract visitors through youth/amateur sports and tourism.  

Amateurs or the poor I suppose think they have to negotiate any price on an investment to make it valuable to them, try buying a round lot (100 shares) of United Tech  or O'Reilly Auto  or 3M stock and see how your negotiation goes.

So its VERY slow, and the deal may easily fall through or I will be out bid (most often the case).Being that I am a amateur, (own 3 properties) I was curious what ya'll do to find your deals, and at what speed it allows you to accumulate your portfolio.Thanks,Bill

Working with multiple agents for the same purchase is an amateurs mistake.  

The system I use is the public media; TV, radio, direct mail, branding and using the right message.The best leads you can work on are those who call you directly to buy their property (houses, commercial or non-conforming)There are lots of motivated and distressed owners of real estate who prefer not listing their property with a real estate company for month only to find out that they are represented by amateurs in the business, they don't want to call on a bandit signs hanging on a public telephone pole to talk to a bottom feeding equity predator, they laugh their butts off reading "I want to buy your property, written child like on YELLOW PAPER.I have been doing well finding these folks (they finding me) with real desires, real financial issues, sincere sellers with problems.  

You are operating a business, emotions are for amateurs. 

That tells me I'm likely dealing with an amateur. 

Well, I've become an amateur forensic real estate agent; being passed from one department to another in the City of Baltimore Department of Housing.