I was thinking about the rent stream to cover holding costs.What percent of market value might a bank lend on a cash out refi?  

I currently have about 100 plus contacts of guys who make 200k a year, and are looking for other streams of income (go look at oil prices).I need help with proper research, establishing property values.   

There are several different ways to go about this and a ton of great posts, member blogs, BP blogs, BP podcast, books which cover this topic in great detail so I will just provide you a few terms to search and you will find all the information you could ever want right here on BP.1)  Wholesaler - You are right if you could find a great wholesaler this could provide you a steady stream of properties which could be a good input into a fix/flip model.2)  Motivated Sellers -  If you want to dive in you can start looking for the motivated sellers yourself but this is not a easy endeavor.  

Maybe it's money, maybe it's a steady deal stream, maybe it's grunt work.

But this area lacks a major grocery store, movie theater, chain restaurant, etc.  

My goal is to have a steady stream of cash flow over the next 15+ years and then continue to have a steady stream of income into retirement (either through rent or selling 1 or more properties).

And, even if the initial net profit is the same, it's better to have diversified profit streams than a single one.

I think you pay nothing the first full month in both cases (stream line or not).

And I don't see how you can go wrong picking up a 140k to 150k house for 4k or 5k that should kick off a gross monthly profit of 400 to 500 per month.Ultimately, thats how someone with a modest chunk of capital can grow a very nice portfolio and build a really nice stream of income and a ton of net worth.  

If you make it interesting to them, they might choose to get an income stream instead of cash up front.