When I moved I would rent the homes at negative cash flow.....at the time I was only thinking capitol gains not cash flow.The odds of me buying my "forever house" within the next 5 years is slim and I need a place to live so I'm trying to use my house fund (65K) to buy something that either cash flows while I live in it or when I decide to rent it in the future.I agree with you guys that a temporary living period will be necessary to learn enough about the area I may want to buy in.  3-4 months is what I'm thinking now.     

Also the profit margins seem pretty slim.

So, with Deal Machine at 90 cents per direct mail piece you are looking at $1800 to $2700 and the probability of closing a deal is slim to none. 

But the likelihood that you're going to buy one the first week that it's listed, without competition, is slim to none.

I like to see the cash flow as apposed to slim margins/break-even properties. 

Your chances of getting a deal from 1 person are slim!

It looks pretty slim. 

You may still find some opportunities but the margins are going to be slim and in my opinion not worth the time and effort.David, I don't quite understand your statement that phoenix is "controlled by the hedge funds and banks", that is simply not true.First, daily notices of trustee sales are back down to 2001 levels here in Maricopa county.

I have, indeed, not yet run the numbers as I figured it to be a waste of time as the chances of me making that deal are so slim.

On top of that, I am specifically looking in an area where multi-families are slim.