Since you recently purchased, yours was reassessed at todays values and theirs are still working off assessments from years ago (possibly) and the people you bought from likely had an old assessment as well.

The other book you mentioned caters more to that audience and gets people hooked on the idea that they can invest in real estate with no money and then teaches them how in subsequent books. 

Most of that is not really worth much to most people. 

There are also deals that can be find on jud.ct.gov for foreclosure auctions but those rarely work out because the people usually owe more than the property is worth or they get cancelled and postponed frequently. 

Quote from @Austin Wolff: Hey Kegan, I published on article on BiggerPockets specifically to answer this question for people like you (and selfishly for myself):The 10 Best Markets for Your First House HackNone of the states you mentioned are on this list, however.

You'll meet a bunch of fellow capital region investors and people who can help.

Bathrooms if you can zero threshold people love those and as they age out they need it anyway but that would be for main level. 

I always check active rentals to see what the competition is currently looking like for if a rental were to go live that month too.

The problem (as you have cited) is trying to understand what you need (you don't know what you don't know), where to get it, qualifying its source(s), and the validity and usefulness of all that.Pardon me if I've gone into this too much, but I meet many people with the same concerns that you are voicing and this is offered, as much as possible in direct response to your post.Please feel free to contact me if you have any comments or questions. 

I guess my problem with being too up front about seeing their place is that I don't feel like I'm in a position of power right now to decline people since it's hard enough to find people that I want to even get to that point in the application process in the first place, but I have to snap out of that mindset and have to instead come from a place where I make them believe that I have a lot of other applicants and that it's my standard policy and it's something they'll have to go through if they want my place.....ESPECIALLY if I decide to only take 1st & security from them rather than 1st/last/security.Thanks again!