Yes, we would absolutely have to sell to an investorI am concerned though,  because I have read that it would be hard to get a loan on a non producing property, so basically we would need a cash buyer...That definitely narrows down our pool of potential buyers..

Maybe you can further narrow down which niche you guys would like to pursue and in which market.

I can definitely see your initial concerns and coming from a more media-friendly big city myself (San Diego), i can see where the hesitation may be in exploring a city like Detroit all by your lonesome.I've recently relocated here and the more I do research and  get my bearings, the more comfortable I'm becoming in narrowing down my areas I'd want to invest in.

That will probably help narrow down your focus to start.

I contacted their customer service and they informed me that any search results over 500 wouldn't be able to be downloaded and that I needed to narrow my focus.  

I've also been narrowing down my buying criterial do seeing some exciting opportunities in my area.

@Dustin Cook - All real estate is local, so while it is great start that you have made a list of possible markets, I would narrow that list down before you spend too much time searching for deals.

Well, it sounds a little narrow to build on so not sure how much market value it would have.

I recently had a post asking about escrow companies that can do double-closings on short sales and were referred to many, but I narrowed it down to two that I had a pleasant time talking to. 

I would suggest finding a list from list source and narrowing down to 3/2s  (or whatever it is you want to focus on).