The number of calls you make, are only important if you are guaranteed a specific dollar in return per call. 

AS I dont do them or have never done them on deals were I wanted to make more than a traditional 6% I just put the % or dollar amount I wanted in the listing.. 

Deduct NEW property taxes after you buyDeduct home insurance costsDeduct maintenance percentage, typically 10%Deduct vacancy+tenant nonperformance percentage(we recommend 5% for Class A, 10% Class B, 20% Class C, good luck with Class D)Deduct whatever dollar/percentage of cashflow you wantNow, what you have left over is the amount for debt service.Enter it into a mortgage calculator, with current interest rate for an investment property, to determine your maximum mortgage amount.Divide the mortgage amount by either 75% or 80%, depending on the required down payment percentage - this is your tentative price to offer.If the property needs repairs, you'll want to deduct 110%-120% of the estimated repairs from this amount.Be sure to also research the ARV and make sure it's 10-20% higher than your tentative purchase price.As long as the ARV checks out, this is the purchase price to offer.It is probably significantly below the asking price.

They ran a scheme to steal MILLIONS of dollars from potential borrowers. 

For instance, someone making $500k a year and living in a very highly appreciating market might be extremely happy on a deal that loses $200 a month but is getting 5% appreciation on a 2 million dollar property in San Diego, butut that doesn't make sense for the investor with 30k and a lower paying job.When it comes to the book series I agree with you that the order doesn't make sense (having read both).

The fees they tack on AFTER you invest hindreds of thousands of dollars is just nuts!

The best you can do research your market, improve personal budgeting, improve credit, and get your dollars working for you.

Drive for dollars in all of the multifamily areas, especially closest to you.

Another thing that my brain keeps milling on is the fact that if in a normally purchased deal, I work hard and pay off a 3 million dollar building in 20 years, and then don't pay my 80k annual property tax, I'm going to lose my 3M building that I "own" but somehow don't really actually own.

A successful investor's time may be worth hundreds of dollars per hour.