Is it true direct sale from banks is not likely in a hot market?  

Welcome Kelvin, the mid-market is pretty hot and affordable.

Avoid urban cities and target vacation destinations/national parks.A lot of successful people are keeping their hot markets on the down low.I would focus on an area that has demand and has a good outlook for continuing to increase demand, and then try to find good deals in that market and trying to create something very unique.

(Sometimes depend on the market, I even throw in some bonus such as if they sign a lease renewal before end of the week we can get them some rent credit for the upcoming month, if the market is hot then I won't say anything) 

I may be a little late to the game but I've been hearing about how hot flex space is for a few years now and currently considering undertaking a new flex development project here in central Florida.

You'll do this for everything in the home that requires replacement: interior paint (4 years), flooring (12 years if you use 12 mil LVP), roof (20 years), hot water heater (10 years), oven, washer, dryer, garbage disposal, microwave and so on. 

Listening to their podcasts and reading the forums are great ways to learn about hot markets and new emerging markets from fellow investors.

Hot market.

The worst part was that they had a baby living in the house with them, after we bombed the place there was over 1000 dead roaches, and I found a live snake behind the hot water heater 4 feet from a mattress that was laying on the floor that someone was sleeping on.  

Unfortunately it's tough to be a part time agent and be readily available in a hot investor market, at least in terms of on-market deals.