I plan to avoid having an agent, since I feel comfortable with understanding valuations, and want to be able to provide a better value proposition to the Seller by avoiding the Buyer's Agent's commission. 

check that--some are lukewarm and collaborative, others open warfare.My view, condos can be lower fuss management propositions, especially for newer investors unable to do exterior maintenance, but can slow you down and take away control if you are a more advance hands on landlord (read: potentially frustrating) If you are new, why not take a smaller bite of one or two units.

Free lunch.Seriously though, I can't imagine anyone turning down a free lunch or a good value proposition. 

@Paul Fagot  no advice like I said they are dime a dozen out there in the rust belt... many times they have zero value.. probably a total waste of time. .you cannot use WEst coast value propositions out that way ... you will over pay by 3X if you do

Likewise, trying to make a bundle on low-income properties is a tough proposition if you mean to be responsible landlord and/or property manager.

Also if your value proposition is that your properties are 'professionally renovated by ___' then make sure you can actually do professional quality work

Yes, you should find a unique selling proposition and brand yourself that way.

There are many building in bad shape that have good site amenities but the structure is bad, should these be bought and re-sold, is there a market for this or is it a "lose-lose" proposition in terms of cash flow.Thanks in advance for your input and discussion.

Jason, others may have had a different experience but in my personal experience hard money lending is - like much of business - built on personal relationships.I would recommend you start going to a local REIA such as the RI Real Estate Investors Group (rireig.com) or Black Diamond REI (BlackDiamondREI.com) and network, maybe identify a few promising folks, take them out to coffee or a meal, etc. and just look to start building a few relationships and identifying good prospects.Then when you have a deal you're looking for a lender on, you'll have a few people to start asking and maybe if they don't know someone they can recommend you to someone else in the group (one of their contacts).People are much more comfortable recommending people they already know and have "vetted" as having a minimum amount of knowledge, so that's what you'll really be trying to do - establish that you've educated yourself, didn't just get out of your first seminar last weekend, are committed to real estate beyond this year, etc.All that said, if you think you really have a good deal and have a compelling case to make to a lender*, by all means announce it at one or more local REIA meetings and you may end up making a connection right away.But if you don't already have a good deal & value proposition for a lender then I'd say go the long-game, relationship-building route.

3 years ago I bought my first home. A single family 4 bed 3 bath 1800sqft with a decent size lot. Currently I rent one room out to my sister who is attending the local university. Just landed a solid full time job thi...