You may need to look at listings from people who are trying to sell their own homes without a realtor / talk to neighbors and try to snag them before they go out to market, look for the cosmetically ugly places you can touch up and remove all the contingencies (if you’re comfortable with doing some rehabbing and basic inspection on your own), keep looking and making offers (there are slower times like Christmas where you won’t have as many competetive bids, look at what’s renting for higher than the mortgage (like Marysville), go in with someone who can make a “cash” offer (where they get a business loan and pay the owner all cash), etc.

House shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the best time because most people are in holiday mode so you can get a better deal than spring shopping.Keep your mortgage and take out a HELOC.

Aug in Christmas. 

Building a porfolio large enough to work when you want, dropping your kids off at school, going on field trips,not missing a single christmas concert or sporting event, kids never seeing daycare, volunteering,coaching, being able to make donations to charities of my choice..

I'm assuming Christmas  could be a little tense in the sellers family this year.........Happy InvestingDerek Dombeck

They also don't care if you take money every two weeks or if you take one annual withdrawal on Christmas Day each year.Just keep your business and personal accounts separate.

After we purchased the building, we asked tenant to remove their belongings from the basement, she claimed that we threw out her personal stuff, such as Christmas tree, and her kids' photos, and all together worth $1000.

In Dayton Ohio the only really slow time for rentals is around Christmas through the first week of January and late June through mid August. 

I have been able to buy Christmas gifts for children in need, donate supplies to families who were devastated by a house fire, purchase electric lawn mower for a home owner who had an allergy to carbon monoxide.  

@Steve Christmas Thanks!