How and what you do will depend entirely on the area you are operating in as you will need to do as all the other student landlords do to be competitive.

Alternatively, you can use cash to purchase distressed property in nice neighborhoods that would not otherwise qualify for traditional financing and/or the owner wants/needs to sell fast such that a 30+ day escrow to fund a traditional loan would not work ... in that case your only other competition would be from other cash offers, thus eliminating most of your competition from retail buyers.

Anton Watt the best city for you to invest in is the one where you can enjoy the greatest competitive advantage.

what is your competition like?

While that sounds great, it ignores that it is a very competitive auction.

I have submitted offers, however, it is VERY competitive when you’re only working off the MLS.

I'm looking to start investing in these types of properties to start off with since the market is so competitive. 

Charleston you will see one of my projects there 5 new builds.. but on the same streets are some really nice older homes that would make great rentals.. you can look for one's that are run down or tired  knock on a few doors you might scare something up that way as well.. then if you continue down Oak to the east past crappy MHP you will see three more homes those were ours as well. the very next street hang a left.. there are older homes there that would make nice rentals.. you have a great opp in N> Charleston with Boing going gang busters its a hot place to be investing.. and TOTALLY under the radar so you don't have the intense competition you have in other markets from turn key companies.

They can be harder to find, but less competition.

I always try to up my competition at a competitive price.Good Luck.