So even though I'm out of state this is not outside my core competence. 

So, it will be very, very difficult to find contractors who competently understand the 203k.

Most importantly you need to convey confidence and assurance you are a player and not just wasting their time.

My wife and I have added a valuable team player in this agent who offered the pocket listing.

Most importantly you need to convey confidence and assurance you are a player and not just wasting their time.

In fact I even find it very difficult to compete in the current market buying additional rentals because I keep comparing today's prices to prices of properties I acquired in the last few years. 

Competing offer must be presented for verification."

So, if you find a highly competent person that you like, it's OKAY if they are located in a distant office as long as there are other offices you can pop into nearby to drop off earnest money, and so forth.  

You compete with other low cost property that is geographically insensitive, in that a renter could find "comparable" places a mile out of town for half your rate, so your product needs to convey 'true' value for your numbers to work.

If you're a big spec player / developer gobbling stuff up it's so much easier and cheaper to just board them up while you wait long enough to be able to buy enough of the land around it then begin your big project.