@Jonathan Woodruff speaking only for myself, one thing that drives me nuts is people who are typically drawn to the charm and unique qualities of an old home, and then whine about its lack of modernity--- modernity which, by the way, will likely fall out of favor again in a decade or less.

depends on location, in a city they should be within .5 mi, in a suburb 1 mile and rural  5 miles but unique properties can be stretched further, I have done thousands of BPO's for banks, the rules were 3 listed and 3 solds, within 20% speck and similar condition, and make appropriate adjustments for differences, there is more art than science to it.

The dynamic makes for a unique RE market where you can have a million dollar vacation home next door to a hippie commune.

If you don't panic but work through difficulties and overcome obstacles, you reduce your risk.I don't know how to quantify it on a scale because every deal and every investor is unique.

People with good credit are rewarded with same.a little off topic but when i was activly HML in Mississippi I had a pretty significant LOC with Trustmark .. and when talking to my banker there he told me they really focused on the medical profession.. providing all the capital for those folks to buy their homes with minimal down include the furniture and cars etc etc.. i could not figure out how these under 40 doctors were living in million dollar homes with 300k in toys :)  the banker said once we have these doctors as clients we have them for life and their entire banking needs.My personal banker in Oregon their bank really goes after Dentists .. and they do the same thing.  

My hometown has a population of 35,000 with its own major employers and own unique economy. 

I happen to only finance projects that are rentals that my gcs partners do the work on, so I have a somewhat unique business model.

Works in some places, doesn't even come close in others. 70% isn't really a rule either - every deal is unique, so if you peg yourself into these "rules" you will miss out on everything that just barely doesn't fit in the rigid box of rules. 

I love what I do and I love knowing that I'm adding value to investors world wide who are interested in investing in Milwaukee.I want to hear from other agents / investors who are just starting out that have perfected the craft of managing 10+ investors who all have extremely unique investment parameters. 

Ive been toying with the idea of teaming up with investors for that one if it makes sense.