It takes practice and many years of experience to perfect the process.

Practical question: it's easy enough to figure out what cap rate the seller is using to determine their price (if they don't state it outright.)

This is made possible by dumping my entire income as a realtor into our investments, as we are currently living on one income and will continue that practice. 

A very simple way to start might be one of those websites that give you cost per daft estimates for different repairs.It sounds like you are in the learning phase, so do lots of reading and maybe see if you can find some properties to evaluate for practice.

If one were to crunch numbers and stick to just the official city boundaries, they'd absolutely be missing out on quite a large amount of relevant data.My comment was more directed in a practical manner re Miami.  

What is standard practice?  

Hey BP,I am hoping to start a discussion on wholesaling in Minnesota and the best contract practices to follow.I have been looking for rehab deals mostly, but doing some marketing I always come across deals outside of my area that might be good deals to wholesale.

I seriously doubt that this is the case in most out of state rental markets, unless perhaps you are looking in class A neighborhoods.Con: You can't as easily or practically as a newbie buy under market value and force appreciation.Con: You can't obtain favorable lending terms through house hacking.Con: You have to pay everyone to do everything for you, which not only cuts into your profits but also robs you of learning the business hands on.Con: Lots of cons ... con men and women telling you everything that you want to hear to sell you the dream and take your money.

It is good practice to have a buyer or two that can work you through your first couple deals.

Is this standard or common practice?