@Don Spafford - I was impressed with his podcast.

I personally have been very impressed with the per sq ft returns on really small units too (like studios on the beach).

I do not agree with the comments that say the first property is meant to be a learning experience and that it doesn't need to make money.It may be a learning experience, but buying a poor deal hurts your ability to grow your business and might not give the new investor a good impression of real estate investing. 

Landscaping can definitely increase ARV, but may make more of a difference when it comes to first impressions of a buyer/renter. 

So, now they are trying to give you the impression that there is a higher offer and see if you will increase yours.

On the plus side, they answered any questions I had almost instantly - which is impressive as I was taking the classes at night and on the weekends.

We have been impressed with the product & I was particularly interested in it's integrity during the summer heat & heavy frost winters in our winterized Lakehouse.  

I have the impression that there are two REIAs in the area, and maybe one of them meets on the first Tuesday of the month?    

He was impressed with our tenant's work and hired him for some general labor on one of his jobs.

We were very impressed with the bottoms, solid plywood construction.