On the owner side, this means that there are more of them that are mismanaged and distressed, so while I don't condone trying to take advantage of less sophisticated sellers, the simple fact of the matter is that there is larger inventory of distressed properties with motivated sellers, so it is easier to find a deal.

@Ray SouthernIf you are purchasing residential properties (1-4 units) or small multis owned by mom-n-pop operators, most of the time these are not run as businesses, so not having adequate financial records is the norm.When you deal with larger properties you will have more sophisticated owners and "professional" management, and, in those instances, you should expect proper financial statements (though perhaps not full access until after you have an accepted LOI in place).

I say try it for 2 weeks and lets see. so a lot of that goes on@Jay  Here is the difference, you are a sophisticated investor and you understand the market and process.

I'd get out there and do some deals before I worried about getting sophisticated.  

I think that's wonderful when it happens, but I never want to assume appreciation because that's one way to get in trouble in real estate, as many did in 2004-2006.)Again, I certainly think it's possible to retire on rental income, but it's a grind, working up to the required number of units, and you'll need to learn some lessons along the way (many the hard way) to reach that level of sophistication.

As the growth of Colorado Springs is spreading towards the East, more sophisticated buyers are buying property out there and using title insurance which then is bringing these issues to the forefront. 

I located a Licensed Mortgage Broker to send people to in order for them to get approved for a loan, just in case.I put up hand made signs that were very, very sophisticated ;-) that said "House for Sale".

As an investor, I would consider myself sophisticated enough to not need an agent, but at the same time if it's the glue that holds a deal together I'm not going to ignore an agent on principle.

Sub S corps are better for actively managed operating businesses where you can allocate some revenue between payroll taxable compensation and business profit (no payroll tax).

I ran into problems last time I did a HELOC because the underwriters were not very sophisticated.