Hi Anthony-You asked about the best ways to find off-market deals for your in-laws to buy and move into and you are focussed on the Santa Barbara, CA area which I have been to and it is gorgeous.It kind of reminds me of an Ann Arbor on the ocean. :)Anyway, I like your strategy of driving and looking for houses in need of repair and sending handwritten letters and contacting rentals for the reasons you gave.

Even though your market might prove expensive, I would exhaust all options before ruling it out.Truth is, you have a unique competitive advantage in your market.  

Milwaukee is the third most competitive market for tenants in the US.

You’re absolutely right—speed is such a critical factor in securing deals, especially in a competitive market.

From there network and connect with those in your market to do a fix and flip.

If the project is in Canada then I would look to an attorney that understands international law as it could be more complex.Personally for something along the lines of what you are doing I would look to partner with another developer vs trying to raise the capital as that will be less labor intensive.

@Rosmery ThenMy partner and I are in the same situation, just he has 20 years of construction and development experience.

Solving the great mysteries of life, for all of us, generally requires time and bandwidth, resources unavailable if you're spending all your down time looking for the next off-market deal. 

I ran your numbers through my own development proforma analyzer and it looks really good as a DSCR loan. 

Deals are location and market specific.2.