They've been late frequently in the past as well, more often than they are on time.

Try to get into the part of Everett near the casino or just outside of it.

I’ve been hearing about self directed IRAs (Roth/Traditional) and 401ks being used to fund deals frequently.

In this situation we would be making frequent trips to the property. 

The properties can look ugly, but I would shy away from bad parts of town as you'll have break-ins frequently. 

@Jake Wernitznig buyers frequently don't factor in the costs of landscaping new construction.

Is this a frequently used tactic?

We were looking at it more for the flexibility of looking at a lot of properties frequently, MLS access and being able to continuously put in offers without exhausting an agent who has other clients to focus on as well.  

@John Moran,There are number of active investors as well as service providers who are frequent contributors on this forum.

That is like telling people they can go down to any Casino and win 99 out of 100 times if you only follow their strategy.