Direct marketing or a wholesaler in the area may be your best bet.

This is a great tip; as a newbie to google's cloud based suite of tools it opened my eyes to some possibilities I hadn't realized before.Something I discovered is that you can add additional columns to the spreadsheet to perform calculations on the values submitted from the form.

The wholesaler doesn't want to give out information unless you demonstrate that you're legit.Technically sending out personal information and advertising a large bank account to someone through craigslist also make you a target of a scam, too so tread lightly.In order to get a proof of funds letter, your best bet is probably working with the bank that holds the money (or line of credit) you plan to use to invest.Also, consider a different approach in looking to meet the wholesaler for coffee in order to discuss more about their business and your criteria.

I would bet they would go down if the tenants were paying them...

If not completely, I bet she will be with a big check to pay things down/off with.  

And I bet you some of those areas they are thinking of have brand new developments and or completely renovated homes in them.

I'm betting that you have already used that. 

Option 2 is your best bet, addition is around 100/sf and rehab of the house assuming to studs is about 70-80/sf.

There are a couple other columns that would be helpful to have on the chart: the numbers broken out by square foot and the soft costs as a percent of the hard costs.

With the markets heating up I bet real estate reality shows are going to be especially hot in 2014.