I'm also exactly in the same situation. looking at Cleveland, OH and surrounding suburbs as the place for my first investment property.

Hi @Tyson Thomas to piggyback on @Mike Day's comment, definitely reach out to all of the banks in your surrounding area (large, medium, small, credit unions, etc.).

One way or another, and if nothing else, someone has to evaluate the property as to the probable cost to bring it to an after-repair-value that matches the surrounding market's fair market value for comparable properties - before ever offering to buy it at "such a ridiculously low price" (as the seller will term your offer at first), let alone, before offering to sell it at "wholesale" to your buyer (i.e., so far below fair market price at retail that the repairs can be covered as well as your profit and the flipper's profit in its eventual retail sale -- or 'buy-and-hold-to-rent-out'er's profit before they would expect to get it rented -- plus the title search, closing, and any tax costs related to your purchase from the seller (usually split somehow) - and finally, the title search, closing, and any tax cost split with whoever buys it from you.Now, that someone could be you (you do trust you and your repair-estimate abilities, don't you?)

I'm looking for current wholesalers in the Puget Sound and surrounding areas. 

As long as you surround yourself with the right people and energy, you will grow at the speed of light.

In this case, there were over a dozen down units that had been that way for over 10 years, rents were much lower than surrounding properties that did not have units as nice as what ours would be when renovated, and it had absolutely terrible management.  

If you had a few buildings (w/o their own parking) on a block within a high density area and a parking lot on the same block (but a different parcel), the separation of parking from accommodation rental is pretty much self-evident.However, if you have an apartment complex with a surrounding parking lot on the same parcel, the availability of parking was/is likely a zoning requirement for the building.  

Would also like to learn more about the surrounding areas and about investors first hand experience in real estate investing. 

I tell them what I want done in a check list format, and what I want them to resupply and restock the units with. 4 rolls of tissue paper, 4 water bottles, etc.

In my opinion, after Katrina, two big factors led to the quantity of foreclosures, and I believe neither will have nearly the same impact in Houston and surrounding area.1) A substantial portion of New Orleans' population left and has never returned.