Any first hand help, speculations, or ideas would be great.  

This seems more like a speculation play for appreciation than an investment.  

Everything else is speculation and you may speculate in error.  

Are these institutional buyers/hedge funds/equity firms more speculative players or are some actually REI savvy?

They don't want to waste time with speculators who just kick the tires and that's all they do.

It is a very competitive market now and the seasoned flippers are competing with the newbies who think they can flip, unfortunately some of them are speculators who end up bidding a house up too high and are stuck in the end with a property that doesn't perform well.

Actually, they can get 12%, as you pointed out, on a marginal deal or some speculative situation that will blow up in their face.A mentor of mine said it so well, when referencing those types of "investors," (who really are just speculators) when he said, "Bernie Madoff taught investors that you can't get 12%."

the market, the projects, speculations, even when we travel.then....I start doing it too.

TX is a great economic forward moving state...so I'm sure I will be doing more biz here than there, until economies change...and as we all know..they do change....I have some reacquainting to do in CT and relearn markets..how they have changed..re downsizing of DOD in area and upsizing of Casinos and associated markets....plus I'm seeing the push on technology in CT...could be positioned for some corporate growth..in the SW to Central corridor....but that is speculative at best right now...

If you have to hope that things work out you are speculating and Murphy's law will catch up to you.