Now as a person who has rubbed elbows with billionaires, and worked in a segment of elites, I can say from 1st hand experience your over-complicating things.

So with low supply, combined with high demand, this then becomes one of the most competitive segments of an already competitive market. 

As a 12 year veteran flipper, I totally agree with Thomas S. from Ontario...the past 10 months have been crazy with first time investors entering into an inclining market, so with the market upswing and added new investors bidding up properties just to get a deal, it leaves no room to make a profit at the moment...so, I am refocusing efforts on rent 2 own and my agency until the market shifts again....one segment to not discount is inherited that need to be probated, if you connect with a good probate attorney, you can be the one stop shopping and take them through the entire process until a person is appointed as personal representative and obtains license to sell the property through the court...if it needs work, almost all real estate agents will stay away as they are scared of probate and the time it takes, usually 8-12 months...but the pay off is fantastic...   

I'll guess that the absentee owners in your area are getting quite a few letters, so I would bypass them and try another segment that hasn't been mailed as much.

Rents are higher in certain areas but you must segment the market.

I will probably focus on one target segment but will use two methods (direct mail and targeted FB ads) to go after them. 

Does it make sense to break the valuation into to segments?

I have run through most of the subjects 1 to 5 times so I see posting slacking off quite a bit as I don't want to talk or spend time typing about the same subjects over and over... there is only so much one can do in Real Estate.But like you said the price to be a pro is nominal to be insignificant.. if your trying to make money at this business I can see this as an excellent resource for certain segments of the market.. especially selling rental properties and I think PM marketing is whoefully under utilized on this site.you have such a heard mentality here..

With this, I'm definitely building a very limited amount of specs that will appeal to a larger market segment.

So,A- I think you will need to get experience in the specific RE segment you get interested in.