And some of us been replying back yes there is, just where they are, how to get them, has changed a bit and it's no longer as simple as closing your eyes and randomly throwing darts at a MLS map and buying whatever. yes, those days are long gone but if your willing to roll-up the sleeves and get professional at it, there is "deals" all over the place, you just gotta get skilled on how to find them, tap them, monetize them. 

A motivated seller is anyone willing to sell their house below market value.Take 100 people in foreclosure, randomly.

@Jared Khanhello - I am just going to be very direct.it doesn't make sense to use expensive money to buy a random property thousands of miles away. 

Some won't but I would want that so they aren't pulling random #'s out of the air.

Ive certainly purchased properties at serious discounts to the listing price....but it wasnt just random shotgunning of the offers.What I usually start with when trying to see if a lowball offer is appropriate is having a conversation with the listing agent first.

They have ways now to know where the oil is under the ground that are more sophisticated than random wildcat drilling.

you say that you "were told to" get an STR for tax purposes, which seems odd, and that you only have 30-40K... and you might use HELOC money to help with the down payment, which will just put tremendous pressure on you to be profitable and support all of the debt.unless i am missing something i would back up and regroup before you buy a random STR in a random market and hope it supports all the debt you will have to have...

You mentioned the roof and AC being new and i'm assuming they're in good condition.10% should be enough to cover the random water heater that goes or any other lesser headache. 

You are posting you are posting random comments on YouTube articles.  

But again, read the offering documents carefully as you study the investment opportunities, don’t rely on the marketplace or any random (perhaps uneducated customers google reviews) to do your diligence for you.