It's pretty robust as you can compare and contrast with other neighborhoods. 

I have several partners that I work with, and one of their main functions is providing a strong balance sheet so we can get large commercial loans. 

if you dont have at LEAST 6-months of reserves (or sufficient non-RE related income source) to cover surprises (which will happen on every property) dont buy anything yetuse the SEARCH function on biggerpockets BEFORE you post your question--your question has probably been asked before and seasoned investors might not answer your post because they have answered it before.if you dont have a business plan, dont buy anything yet--you have homework to do.  

Cash flow is what I need to justify building houses, additions, and making places look/function better.  

A great service I just subscribed to help me with leads and my marketing campaign as well is Realeflow     http://realeflow.com/marketing-engine/The software is very robust and lead pipes, are included in the fee.

I found one property on the MLS that was not a great deal but a functional one, after a few auction properties, two of which were good deals, one was a bust, but it ain't easy, that's for sure.

Lease up when a unit turns is generally considered a separate function for another fee. 

I also plan to attend an upcoming CTREIA function to start networking.This newfound interest came about through serendipity.

Most people can't make rhyme or reason out of how banks function when it comes to handling their REO's.

@John BradleyIn a nutshell, because the interest rate is determined by a central bank authority, (The Fed), instead of the marketThe Fed only sets the Federal Funds rate, which is a short term interest rate for the Fed to function as the lender of last resort when banks need to borrow money overnight for their balance sheets to balance.