The only influence you can have is what type of rehab you will be doing on the house.

You could real "How to Win Friends or Influence Neighbers" by Dale  Carnegie that tells you how it helps to listen and other things that will grow your company.  

Where you live probably has some influence on rates, but it also depends on who is doing the work within the firm, how reputable they are, etc.

Even some of these influencers I am finding are hypocritical. 

My goals in real estate investing are humble, but my partner is aggressively seeking to invest as quickly as possible, so we will see if that influences me at all.  

Simply add that info on your profile to be added at the bottom of each of your posts like mine is so you will not be penalized as yournew influence meter is reduced each time a moderator has to edit or remove something from your post.That said,thanks for the information and your experience/expertise in your field.

Never know what comes back, but you can't influence the appraiser anyway (LOL).

(tried to vote you up but my votes aren't working-owell, i guess you have enough influence already) i've learned on here that you don't want to pay for cashflow..you can make any property look like a great investment by buying down the mortgage with a larger downpayment, but you're essentially just paying for cashflow....make sure the property cashflows assuming 100% financing and you'll be golden!!

My question is how can you find out when a City has new development projects which in turn can influence where you should be buying depending on how significant the project might be.

They have to avoid any hint that a buyer, seller, lender, owner or any other party had an influence on their opinion of value.