And of course, I do my own due diligence (so far my source has proven to be honest and accurate).

my biggest problem would then be where to find pre-foreclosures, I've seen all the web sites advertising pre-foreclosure lists, but i'm not sure how accurate they are or if I should even bother with them.

It is free and almost as accurate as MLS.

PA area, I happen to know the "local REIA expert" on this topic, and he will be presenting at the REIA meeting in October of 2009.Dennis has accurate info on the payment terms; it does vary by county in PA.And there is much more to doing sheriff sales successfully then a zillow and drive-by.kiduno99, I have guest passes to the REIA, so I did a colleague request to you; accept it and PM me and I will send a guest pass via US postal mail to you.

The ARM is going to start adjusting, but if you want to gamble and think rates will go down by when the rate starts to re-adjust, an ARM may be for you.

If it's a land locked lot, meaning there is no access to it except through someone elses land, it could be quite a gamble and may pay off big time.

We have a page that spells out FICO scores and gives resources for credit reports - http://www.biggerpockets.com/credit-report.htmlYou can check your credit report for free at http://www.annualcreditreport.com"Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) consumers can request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies.

I just came accross this, what do you think?

http://www.day1.com/

The only way pick is the traditional methods which are credit report, job history, rental history and hope that they are accurate indicators of future performance.

Do your comps, get an accurate assessment of what it'll take to get the property up to selling standard, and for really big projects, make sure that you have a good contractor (unless you plan on doing all of the heavy work yourself).