You can build a new home/duplex and be in under 80/85% of MV, even more if you buy the land and materials right and have a crew.Don't get sucked up in the investor mentality of making money at closing out of your idea of what a good deal it is.

So far, I have sent out 45 letters and have already received 1 phone call from a curious home owner in Santee who just got out of pre foreclosure (congrats to him).Moving on, the only concern I have with this method is that there aren't many pre foreclosures in my areas and they're quickly being drained and exhausted.

Never understood that mentality.

Be mentally and financially prepared for speed bumps, road blocks, riots, fires, eathquakes and floods.

Scott Peck suggests that "Evil can be defined as a specific form of mental illness and should be subject to investigation like other major psychiatric disease."  

For myself and my wife, I found there is a mental shift that occurs when we have a 'company', which is beneficial to our portfolio.I assume that when you operate outside of an LLC, you have separate bank accounts, policies, work areas in your home, etc?

I had myself in the same mentality.

I have been listening to most of the podcasts and I keep hearing that most of the investors say they have exhausted the way to get a traditional loan, What is the maximum amount?

Then I mentally walk the broker through the main parts of the house and I take notes.

Mentally, I can take that if I thought it was still a good deal.