After sending out thousands and not getting responses, or at least not good ones, I stopped trying this marketing method.

There are a lot of affordable properties in Knoxville, but the growth isn't terribly vibrant and the deman isn't what you'd expect for a city of that size and that close to the Smokies - you're mostly looking at college rentals for the meat of the move season, and the SF market, while it exists, doesn't really compare to Chattanooga. 

@Martin Manning To add onto what others have shared, in the most simplistic terms, apartment complex values are based on Net Operating Income, or NOI, and the cap rate.Price = NOI / Cap RateSo, if an apartment complex has an NOI of $100,000 and a market cap rate of 10%, the value is $1,000,000.Listing agents for complexes love to price based on a pro-forma, which is utter nonsense (unless you're in Austin, in which case apartment complexes apparently have floors made of gold).

Study the market.

The secret to dominating the world of off-market acquisitions isn’t about delivering a slick pitch or being pushy—it’s about becoming the trusted, go-to problem solver that sellers want to work with.

In our market (New Orleans) cemetery tours are very popular. 

Crexi, Loopnet are probably the two biggest but why not work with an agent that can present you with multiple off market and listed deals?

I would say it could be done, just need to have the following:#1 - Have great overall knowledge of that market, and better than agents.#2 - Learn how to run comps so you know the value of the property better than anyone. #3 - Have finances in order (i.e) is this going to be bought through conventional, cash, HML, etc.

Build - rent - refinance -repeat. in columbus ohio you are buying old houses that are 1900 or 1920 or 1940 and you are in a sellers market. on the other hand you can source land which is a buyers market and build single family homes or duplex or triplexes that will return by renting and pulling cash out on a DSCR loan and doing it again. there aren't a lot of strategies that do this. flipping is different. so many risks. but when someone has a well oiled machine it's all good and less risk.

You are positioned right at one of the top 10, if not 3, STR markets on the planet buddy!