Found one yesterday for a client and ended up in multiple offers, secured it but had to go over asking.

Getting a referral from a fellow investor is OK, however that contractor may be good for the referee, but could be not so good for someone else.Contractors are special individuals - they too are chasing the buck and trying to get the best deal possible.You may want to write specifications  of what you want done - once you know what you want you can better compare bids from workman.I have found that meeting real people with real tools at a time they are buying supplies and materials at Home Depot 5:30 - 6 am picking up stuff to do their daily work is sometimes an effective way to find the craftsman you are looking for at a price that will serve you well.Getting referrals is OK - but how do you know that they didn't over-charge the person who is referring you to them?

I have found a healthy amount of flexibility in my schedule to allow me to spend time with my family.

I cleaned the place top to bottom...he inspected with me present, found a few things that I cleaned some more.....and then tried to keep my entire deposit.

The other one I found by sending letters to the people that owned them in my town.

We've found it really tough to get satisfactory touch up results with a contract painter though, so we've added a painter to our payroll.

I've been approved for convential financing and I found a deal on a 12 unit but the bank I'm using wogn't finance anything over 4 units.

I have found a potential deal here in Denver.  

Later we found that we don't need to suffer when we see their emails, we give their cease and decease notice for harassment, and said it will go into their file, then they stopped.Tenants who are picky on every small repairs, and called city for inspection, city came in and picked out 20 items for you  to repair, and costed you money for non-sense?

@Cathleen Ohannigan I am not sure if you found a solution to your dilemma.