The layouts are easier to work with and manipulate to make the space feel as modern as possible. 

instead of a lender try to find a capital partner and share the deals.. thats what I do provide money for JV's  works great its a win win.. your going to waste your time trying to find nothing down lenders.. unless you already have one that really loves you then its possible.

My goal is to make this go as easy as possible with little to no management on my part.Best,Rick

Possible to share a few ways you market to them? 

As far as sheriff sales most people have probaby been approached by every investor in the county possibly the country.

If you want to quickly expand you'll need to maximize your cash on cash and try to put as little down as possible. 

But on a conceptual level, real estate has always been better for equity than cash flow. 10 years ago it was possible to optimize for cash flow, today that is tough.

Is this possible?

Again PMI offers the lower rate because its less risky and offers insurance to the bank.So when you sell your current home try and keep as much as possible and avoid an "All Cash" offer.

You can still find some events on RHAWA website and meetup.com but it's a lot smaller number.As for getting started, remember it's possible to be successful with many different strategies.