First, deep relationships with people so that you know them well, they know you well, and relationship continues for many years.  

PS Rochester and Buffalo were ground zero for much of this stuff also there were groups buying those homes for 10k packaging them up and selling them for 80k to investors from England. the city / state finally cracked down on that and there was some folks that got in trouble on the criminal side of it.. you can google it.. wont mention names but you can find it if you dig deep enoughBut this is nothing new.. buying hood rates for pennies and selling them for dollars to foreigners and unsuspecting out of state folks. 

You can take a deep look at the deals and get an idea of the kind of variety you'll see and come up with your own due diligence method (that meets your unique situation).

I find a lot of investors do basic analysis and don’t dig deep enough.

Quote from @Femi Alakija: As a newbie, I plan to gain a deep understanding of real estate fundamentals, including financing, property evaluation, and market trends. 

To find deals that make sense, you need to dig deep, get creative or create large value add.

I also have this same question about a Multifamily deal we have where we will need to purchase land before approvals.. you’d think being in this as deep as we are we’d know this answer but, it’s actually proven to be a pretty difficult thing for me to come across even with speaking to several people in the industry.. my own mother is 32 year lender.

It’s great to see another agent specializing in investment properties here, especially someone with a deep understanding of the Washington market.

Watch a team of roofers come in and they can strip a roof and lay a new one in 10 hours.i had 3 guys dig a 12 x 6x 40 foot deep hole in a mostly sandy yard replace sewer line and refill in a day.

Jump in the deep end.