Hi Andy, I am having a similar challenge and found your post snooping around for hints. 

You don't necessarily have to steal it to make the #'s work, you just need to be able to know how to maximize all the profit centers in RE (hint: cash flow is just one of many).

Others have kind of hinted at it but one of the things I hear from other investors a lot (podcasts or in my own network) is inherited tenants are usually the ones you end up having all the trouble with. 

Again, I received an email from the RE Agent hinting that my $250,000 offer price, which was $31,000 over the asking price, would likely be rejected because there were other high offers on the table.

lol I took the hint and went with another company for my insurance. 

This story also hints at another key: rent 'em, don't sell 'em, that way you keep getting paid for years to come again and again on a job you did a long time ago.

Start with total returns, as computed by IRR estimated over the lifetime of the investment (not just year 1) ... also, one metric should never be considered to the exclusion of others ... each metric gives you a hint but does not tell the full story; the full story comes from understanding and analyzing all the metrics together in their totality.

Ask me how I know (hint: Phoenix, 2010).

Hint its not the list price.Get your permits early, if you need to pull one it might take you a while to walk thru the process.Good luck, hey if I can help from the perspective of a newbie who went thru the first one, maybe I can help you avoid a couple of our mistakes.

Any hint from Ryan, etc.?