@Geremy Rosenberg one of the best rules I was ever taught - "An investor makes their money when they buy".Negotiate hard on reducing the sales price because even if you get bids from contractors, there are ALWAYS surprises that drive up the rehab costs.

So for every $100,000 you want to bid, you have to have $5,000 in real money on deposit.  

It also allows me to communicate with contractors, solicit and award bids from within the tool and keep my projects on time, within budget and organized.

Others will quote you labor + general construction materials, and you are responsible for finish materials, like actual cabinets, tile, flooring product, and some may bid more of a "turnkey" quote, that would include finish materials.I won't say any one is better than the other, but obviously the quotes can vary dramatically.

Also if it was foreclosed the bank may have bid their payoff on the loan to take it back.

bids?

If you're still using "rules" to bid on properties , especially in this price range, you're destined for a loss.   

If you can get them cheap enough (again you are bidding against season flippers) you might come close to $40K in profit.

And I find it funny persons are all too happy to take a 6/7 figure action on "A" persons declaration of comp/what the #'s are but no-way do they trust "A" contractors 3,4,5 digit project numbers, no-way no-how no no no, gotta get 3+ bids right.....

I did bid on a 5 plex recently.