That's how we do it Jovan - about once a year I go on Listsource and find out the number of absentee owner purchases for the last 6 months by zip code in the county we work in and we'll focus on those zips (actually parts of those zips) with lots of AO purchases.

Luckily I'll be able to get my deposit monies back if the deal doesn't go through (since the AOS says 7.5% down), but not the ~$1300 I spent on the appraisal and inspections.Somewhere down the line, I feel the loan officer and/or the underwriters at the bank made some sort of mistake.

Get one with a ceramic bead scrtch resistant finish if you can, AO if you have to.

Are they all AO?

When I ran the numbers it looked like I would be breaking even every month.Since we were under the impression that we were getting 10% down on both properties the AOS was written that way.

Keep your eyes open and see if you can possibly find a 2 or 3 unit property in the next 12 months or that you can do a little upgrading to Ao that you can raise rents and live in one of the units.

I currently have an AO on a property which is being sold by a bank and I hope to close in early June.

The first thing you want to do is get a pencil search or a O & E report on the properties you are interested in bidding in to make sure the title is clear.

I'd have one of the first columns be something like an action date - like when is the first day you can submit an investor offer, when it went AO, when it went pending and with whom.  

One last note then I will answer your question the high-risk flood zones will usually be identified as an A or V and can be represented as (A, AE, AO A1-30 exc.) low to moderate will usually be identified as (X, unshaded X, B, C exc) zones.