I've also seen houses there in prime locations that have been for sales for years and didn't sell for one reason or another, so building a spec house would also carry it's own risk. 

Scour every home site available and even sites that are not know for home sales, but sales in general - you may be surprised.

update the seller has taken a week+ to review our loan sale agreement (which is very cookie cutter).... finally closed on this one... will keep people updated

Main questions should ask about the seller's:- Reasons/Motivations for wanting to sell- Desired timeline to close- Plan's after selling (relocation, reinvesting proceeds, 1031 exchange, etc)- Back-up plan in case they are unable to sell within the desired timeline- Reasons for not already selling to/with a investor or RealtorAdditional questions will depend on the type of seller lead i.e. pre-foreclosure, probate, fsbo, absentee owner, etc.Here is an example of a youtube search you can use to begin finding call recordings.There are 1,000s and you'll find that the best/most effective ones don't even sound like sales calls.

What if I fix & flip instead of rent, can it pull actual sales comps and group by renovated and estimate the ARV?

I have seen a few house flips where I could tell there was no effort in thinking about the functionality of the space and how that affects their sale. 

It wasn't long after a good bit of offers that my first deal got accepted - a short sale on a condo that I would up living in while renovating.

Just finished a property sale.

I am a former interior designer and did a great deal of work staging homes for sale.

Some lines they will say have been "cut" but they put in a disclaimer on all sales that they don't know if a line might be cut.