Yeah identify some transaction archetypes, reverse engineer the transaction financials and see how it flows.

You identify companies you think are "sure winners" and "buy" $10,000 worth of each one.

Craigslist can sometimes identify these but the level of effort for return is pretty unbalanced.

I hate these lessons and the thieves that teach them, but one day you will be able to identify potential problems in partners or in a potential deal because of this thief and this experience will end up saving you much more than it has cost you.

@Oles Street Educate yourself, network with other investors, identify your target market, work with realtors to find properties, do more networking, build your team and make a leap to buy that 1st property.

I am a Twin Cities investor who has been looking into this and actually identified a zone my partner and I are considering for investing.

Once you identify those you can pick a strategy that is best suited for you.

I'm curious as to what the best strategies are for identifying potential properties, how to approach the homeowners (letter, door to door, a written offer, etc) and how to write a fair and solid price (I'm thinking full price offer based on comps minus 6% because of no commission but throwing in some cash or creditiing closing costs to the seller to sweeten the deal a little bit. 

Use these venues to ask questions about what you’re learning.Narrow your focus - If you plan to invest identify where you would like to start.

You hadn't disclosed your intent for the property, but for resale or rental, it would be good to just look at the quality of similar properties, then try to match or slightly go a step up, in order to increase your ROI.Once you've identified what it is you really value currently, it's best to get 3 estimates and see if you're getting the same values for each.