I'm remind of the old Twilight Zone episode where the lonely guy buys a love potion for cheap, like $10.He was impressed at the exceptional value and it's powerful effect on his love interest, who doted on him and made him the object if her desire round the clock.I don't recall what the antidote cost him, but he gladly paid the old shopkeeper the astronomical price to get 'her' out of his life.Perhaps the note could be "gifted" to a competiting note buyer?

I wrote a wholesaling article that will be beneficial if you decide to do it:http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4430/blog_posts/32194-attention-wholesalers-2-ways-to-stand-out-from-your-competition

The competition in the immediate area should provide good data on what the market rent should be, but suspect as well that one needs to compare apples to apples and include the effects of amenities.

I'm hearing in my market that some rental properties can sit empty for months because the properties are just not competitive enough to perform well and the managers have to discount rents and offer 1 month free rent etc.

A lot of this may depend on your liquid position, ability to access data for the markets you're seeking to invest in, and the type of support you can have in any particular market.I can tell you TX is old faithful and you can get into deals with less out of pocket, but there is high competition and your margins may be lower than say GA.

I know since being in southern California I haven't see any, because there's just too much competition for fixer type properties.

. :-(  They have a lot of options and with that much competition, prices get driven up above my max allowable price.

Minneapolis is a competitive place with a small number of wholesalers.

Along these lines, any thoughts on fractional ownership?

And the most important thing - manage costs - do the rehab cheaper than the next guy who uses a General Contractor or Angie's List for every single item.Also, don't put granite or Trane HVAC or Subzero appliances in a rental that you want to be competitive in any economy.