I think if your going to go big and make a business out of this it can be fruitful.. other wise if you have limited capital its like the OP said you make less than flipping burgers.Plus your capital is not liquid and if your cash is sitting there and that screaming deal comes up what then?

Damage Goods Sale, you go to the grocery store and there in the isle is a basket of a variety of foods with damaged packaging.

These are low hanging fruit, but if you were to hire a detective, they would try the easy methods first - so should you.

I think that the BP community will help me learn how to achieve my goals in real estate, and at the same time build connections that could turn into fruitful partnerships in the future.I recently read the beginners guide to investing (which was great) and plan on getting the book of flipping houses soon too.

Plumber told me to get rid of the disposal and get a basket.

Here is what I mean.You have to be able to "give away some fruit", but "keep the farm".  

Certainly the low hanging fruit is gone, but with patience and homework, you can still find the occasional gem.

The initial basket of properties I'm looking at have, on average, been sitting vacant since May and have fallen 20% from original list price.

We're about 75% of the way there, with $1M already working for us.But even though the math all works out and all of the simulations I run seem solidly in my favor, I'm still very concerned about having all of my money in a single basket. 

@Michael ModestoGift baskets are usually a classy and well-received gesture.