They tend to find the worse for wear properties at the lowest prices, so if you're looking to do heavy rehabs that's a good starting point. speaking with other flippers in the area or real estate agents would help give you the best idea of what you may be looking at for ARV's and rents if you planned on holding any of your properties. 

Once you go commercial, the loans are a lot more negotiable since they tend to be portfolio lenders and hold the loan in house.

In my area, homes with pools tend to sell much quicker and at a higher price per square foot.

Finding an established group that finds a way to get deals done tends to be as helpful as anything as many of us have had experiences of weird and seemingly unnecessary denials.I do like to make sure that its a region they lend to and the type of project that they do.

@Alex OlsonIf you told me ten years ago KC would be hot, I would have thought you were nuts!!

The market is nuts. 

My general impression of the area is that you tend to be better off getting the more expensive homes, as they usually house more people and have significantly higher rental projections.

I can continually save up enough for another down payment through my W-2 income, but the time elapsed kind of drives me nuts. 

If you want to put it at 25%, I won't say you're nuts. 45%, though, is nuts.Not in general but for $800/month units, I believe it should be at least 45%.  

People, particularly amateurs just starting out, tend to focus too much on big tools.