I'd have to buy a fair amount of them for it to be a meaningful investment for me, I am not terribly interested in near term income, as my marginal tax rate is quite high here in CA.  

But, if I can’t buy at a meaningful discount to market, everything I’ve read says it is much harder to make things work.

I think J Scott did a great job in defining how we as investors extract value and why we seek out real estate as an investment vehicle.

Yes, you can extract money from it to invest elsewhere.

As a matter of fact, some shows I listened to them more than once to extract all the knowledge and information that I can get.Anyhoo, the main reason that I decided to sign up for biggerpocket account today is because I am less than 10 days to close on my second home and I want to share it with somebody.

Based on those requirements the contractor can give you an estimate that is meaningful.

True cash offers can result in a meaningful discount.  

Foreclosure listing companies will publish "early postings" if the trustee posts the notice earlier than the deadline.The listing companies extract all the useful information from the actual mortgage and publishes it 18-19 days before the sale on average.

Like all loan programs, it has its purpose when properly applied---short term holding intentions and/or a form of self-imposed "equity skimming" (extracting your capital investment during the loan instead of after selling or refinancing) are two instances that can make sense.

Refinance property on completion and reduce mortgage costs, and/or extract a little equity to apply to next property.