I've done pretty well in it (so far - you never know what the future holds), and I'll tell you my secret: I bust *** harder than any of my competitors.

- what are market rents from your comps (call them, use craigslist and whatever other resource you have to get this)- what is the condition of units for your competitors (shop them!)

There is one large property management firm in my area that charges an arm and a leg because there is no real competitor.

Most of those shady LAs aren't around anymore and I am one of the local brokerages largest direct-buy competitors in my small town.    

My competitors don't offer on-site laundry so that helps me attract and keep the best tenants.The laundry company takes care of the machines and I pay them a reasonable rental fee.

Like @John Thedford said every business has Wholesalers, I used to have an online paintball supply business for three years, I ordered from my biggest competitors and had them drop ship to my customers for a 10-15% profit.

Forget about building up potential competitors, you're requesting that someone take time out of their day -- maybe their investing activities or personal time -- without a return on that time.

1% is hard work and diligence.i am sure those deals are out there.if they were easy to find competitors would snap them up.hey there is even 2% rule.....

So if one were to post closer to actual numbers, then their properties would seem an inferior product compared to their competitors and they'd likely lose market share.  

Our competitors are also fast.”One local Atlanta real-estate agent said bulk purchasers are making it more difficult for individual home buyers to compete for new listings.