Try to narrow your focus into your interest and get your feet wet.

., I'm not saying that you should not bid with a round number, though $2.00 on a 3/4 million dollar home is ridiculous, but when the deal is reached and before all is signed, simply adjust to a round number.This is about as narrow minded of an argument as one on wanting the qualification letter to match a lowball offer!

I think the first thing you need to do is narrow down your search by identifying exact what type of investment you are pursuing and then study the crap out of very specific sub markets.

I also came across this link on landlord/renter friendly states that was helpful in narrowing down where I would like to invest in addition to other metrics https://shar.es/an736g

That could easily get you 6-9ish total units in B and C type neighborhoods.  

Let's set aside the hurdles, though, and narrow it down to your specific example. 

Essentially every deal we’ve done has take about a year from start to finish, mainly due to our one man band contractor but that’s besides the point.

Also, if there are any other filters that would help me narrow down my list please let me know. 

That'll give you a list of addresses to narrow your search for sales, building permits, etc.

The first piece of advice would be to narrow your focus, if you try to do everything when first starting out you will end up doing nothing.