I just wanted to re-introduce myself people and say ‘Hello’…again.

You can take any listing, let's say a two-amily home, plug in the data into the deal spreadsheet, and run the numbers showing how much cash-on-cash returns the property will bring.

So, you still have 2 of the 3 methods available to you and you may find a 3 or 4 plex that can be used with adjustments for the market approach, but that won't fly IMO for financing.As Ann points out, you can also use comps in other areas that are considered to be in the same or similar markets, say a town 8 miles away that basically serves the same area population.

The other major consideration here is how the place is assessed and the impact on your upcoming future.On the sell side, a savvy buyer would have room to beat you up on the price because you didn't get the new bedrooms permitted (as in, they aren't legal bedrooms)On the rent side, the main risk in my mind is that when you rent it and there's bedrooms there if something really bad happened, (say a fire or something) then the insurance company and the AHJ all have a clear path to point to you as the owner, and potentially get out of the way of a major claim.Now this said, I guarantee you that most investors here view these decisions as BUSINESS decisions on these forums, however one reason you don't see a lot of people sharing their specific personal experiences or crowd sourcing these questions is that there's risk involved in sharing awareness of running something 'around' the system.

NOI can be thought of as a "cash equivalent" investment... say like buying stocks, bonds or an annuity. let's say a property costs 100K and throws 10K/yr in cash... that is a 10% return.

I lost one bid because of bad advice from a realtor or I should say a miss communication, then I was yelled at and belittled by the same realtor.

I did dozens with my banker at $250k-$300k before they started funding $1m+ loans.If your looking to buy during a down turn when no one wants to touch RE with a 10ft pole you had better have strong relationships with your banker and have access to lots of cash to get good deals.A $1m crash and burn in 2008 say a failing townhouse project, your going to need hundreds of thousands to get in and turn it around. 

I know there is no hard and fast rule but when you put up cash offers, what would you say as a rule of thumb you can offer below the asking price?

Market rents are not so volatile that all of a sudden say a home that rents for $1,000 per month 2yrs from now is a $1,300 per month home. 

Never did I say a wholesalers offer will not be accepted in a normal multiple offer situation.All the bank owned properties I know of do not allow wholesaling and reselling.