I focus on older, higher-risk properties with obvious signs of deferred maintenance because that's where the technical advantage I'm exploiting makes me the most money.

Wholesalers go for deep discounts to the point of it is boderline exploitation, agents have a fiduciary duty to get the highest and best for their client.

"Mankind is divided into rich and poor, into property owners and exploited; and to abstract oneself from this fundamental division; and from the antagonism between poor and rich means abstracting oneself from fundamental facts."

The money you save comes from not having to work through all the money costing mistakes beginners make using facebook ads like not knowing how to properly write ad copy, how to target on the platform, not installing your pixel correctly, etc…Your time is saved because instead of searching and going out on your own you have a structured curriculum with someone exploiting everything. 

Those are your edges to exploit to the fullest.It generally take a renovation and two years of occupancy before all the operating problems and deferred maintenance and cut-corners-in-the-past on this kind of buy shakes out.

I've also heard people pay the tenants to leave but I feel that can be easily exploitable. ie tenants call after moving out threatening to report while you're doing the renovations. 

Follow up - by doing a cash deal upfront, would I save the seller any closing costs that I could exploit to lower my offer?

I have friends I could reach out to, but I just really would prefer not to exploit those relationships.

It turns out that I'm not the only one that has always exploited this to put white collar six figure professionals into their home using "moderate to low income" goodies: 3/4/19 Most CRA-qualifying loans in low- and moderate-income areas go to middle- and upper-income borrowers. 

I found abnormality in the market and was able to exploit it and now it is gone...this is how money is made in real estate.