Is that still true?  

I guess they are targeting Californians who don't know any better and think those are good deals.Of the last two deals I have done, one was a pocket listing from an agent, and the other, I got by just telling a neighboring landlord that I was interested in buying.A lot of what we hear on this site is true, most deals aren't on the MLS.

Thanks Seamus, I haven't purchased my first property yet, I'm really looking for the tried and true method of starting with a duplex.

@Brittaney Woods  do you feel good just flat lying to people about your true intentions. 

As I believe it true that what we focus on expands, you'd do well to focus on making money and doing deals than messing with the garage sale of humanity. 

@Marco Stack-Simone, it's true that retail purchases/sales slow down in the winter.

Is this true ?

For my goal of finding some true buy and holds that are cash flowing I would like to aim for 10% after the property has stabilized.

But more importantly, the remedy of the smoke damage are true and real expenses. 

Determine your True AVR value and figure 8-10% cost overruns.Hope this helps a little bit based on the small amount of info supplied.Cheers- Derrick