The 'valuations' of assets will follow the quantity of capital in the system, dominated by..the US deficit.

Your role is to help them sell in a nontraditional way by offering cash with no fees and closing within their preferred timeframe.

I own a property management company so it is easy to support this role.

It's puzzling that this market appears to support only a single dominant player. 

Bad tenants are much worse than vacant properties.I wrote a piece a while back with some other tips you might find helpful too: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2015-05-25-5-dominate-pro...

With less demand, sellers may be more motivated to offload properties, especially those facing higher holding costs due to rising interest rates.Also, the election season plays a major role with what's going on. 

sometimes i see people "overpay" - IE, pay more than I would - but, maybe they know something I don't, or have a skill I don't.and while I think the role of institutional investors has been largely overstated, they are definitely still one important factor, especially in certain markets.i think the tougher, riskier strategies still work, but i don't recommend those to beginners... because they are tough and risky.

I knew I wanted to get into investment real estate at some point and wanted to work at a brokerage that focuses on investment properties where I could work with experienced investors and learn how the process works.I would recommend looking into disposition and/or acquisition agent roles.

What is the role of a wholesaler?

Do market conditions, taxes, or potential rental income play a big role for you?