I currently reside in Torrance.I haven't visited the forums yet however, you will see me there as I am a serious and committed investor however, I am learning the flip basics and I am impressed with BP methodology and hope to be an asset to the BP community, quite soon.Cheers ~Rob KuchtaTorrance, CA

Find some ancient cottages and start mail-blasting the owners.

Unless it's a short sale, the lender/bank has no say in selling a home.And, in any case, no one cares about what an appraisal 3 years ago said, regardless of methodology used. 

Below are my numbers...feel free to dissect my methodology, however the ARV is pretty consistent with the market in that area over the past 6-12mos.Email if interested.

I just finished with "The Richest Man in Babylon" which I would highly recommend to listen to in the car if you can get past all the ancient names!

From the overimproved flip, too using the BRRRR method (just heard the term, although I used this methodology for years).

Of course CAP is the ratio of NOI / Market Price.As a metric, it's marginally informative - and only as valid as the methodology used to arrive at the NOI - and of even less merit when evaluating residential real estate.You would not base a purchase decision on NIM or CAP - I would look carefully at the free cash flow and return of the business, along with it's potential for growth (and the cost of realizing that growth).  

Expect to do some upfront work to train any VA that you bring on- unless you're paying a premium you're going to need to be very specific about the tasks/methodology you expect completed. 

I am VERY HAPPY to add my first property, and I would like to know how those investors and experts in Real Estate in Los Angeles invest in this market and what are the best deals and tell us a little about their methodology here.PEACE, LOVE AND CASH FLOW

Agreed with Account Closed, @Theo Hicks has a lot of wisdom to share here.My methodology has been a combination of pulling publicly available lists and places like Listsource and AgentPro247.