They uncovered some foundation issues that made it impossible to recoup the cost of finishing.

It is not that difficult if you are diligent.Here are the simple steps to uncover the reality about demand:Start with the apartments in the area.

So spoke with the sellers of the property and they are willing to work with me in regards to numbers since I uncovered the limitations of of the number of units on the property that are allowed.So my current thinking is...Offer $70 - 80k for the property and since we do not have to renovate as many rooms I am estimating rehab being about $150k or less (have a contractor meeting me Thursday to get another quote).

Use this link to find out what HUD fair market value rent is for your county's housing authority https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html.Also, don't lower your standards because based on what I have uncovered in my research, its a huge reason why many have a disfavorable view of the section 8 program.

However, the new ADU laws in California that went into effect Jan 1 2020 may provide a loophole.As I understand the laws, they say that the city cannot use lot coverage to prevent you from building an ADU under certain circumstances, therefore I wonder if I could do the following:STEP #1: Convert two garages into uncovered carports, causing them to be removed from the lot coverage and bringing our lot coverage well below 45%.

You want to uncover why they're selling if you can. 

It would take the better part of 2 days to get inside every unit to inspect, plus go over the financial with a fine tooth comb, verify utilities, and check with the city on any outstanding code issues....why would I burn up two days of my time only to uncover countless other lies when the Seller wouldn't even respond on paper? 

Walking the property should help you get a better feel for the investment prospects and you may notice or uncover something that will make you lean more one way or the other.

So I'm just wanting to have the opinions of the members of this forum about this subject.I do understand that there are many who do not believe that the MLS is a good place to do wholesaling so I would prefer not to have that debate on this thread because although I do agree that the MLS may not be the ideal place for wholesaling I do know from experience that they exist in large numbers on the MLS, it is just a question of uncovering them.

If you did not get one from your reporting agency, then there was an earlier post that gave one, or you can use one I posted:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/90852-tenant-screening-uncovered-duis-jail-time-etc?