My focus is on seller financing and I have been using Craigslist using the terms "motivated seller" "desperate" "must sell" to narrow the offers.

The agent has nothing to lose by throwing out a number and being wrong, the property will already be yours by the time you figure it out and the agent will have already earned the commission and moved on.To add to the comments already offered, if the big ticket items were done in the 90's, then you can figure they are over 50% worn out and you will soon find yourself writing big checks to replace them, or at the very least keep putting on band-aids to stretch their life a little more.

Right now, we're getting all the information we can on the different ways of investing in real estate, trying to narrow down our focus and strategy.

B- and above rental market neighborhoods and I'd prefer non Section 8.Thanks for your insight regarding the tenant-friendly environment present in Chicago.

We may also explore select B and C markets if A market appreciation looks less likely in the mid-term. 

I think the "getting to deals first" concept is quite narrow.

Zoning on the property is RES-B and properties next door are RES-B - meaning 2 family.

I assign each VA a narrow, very specific task.

You narrow down your search by state, county, city... and then by street.

We have narrowed it down to either FL or SC but besides making sure where we move works for personal reasons, I want to make sure there is ample opportunity to not only flip and fix but also obtain some rental properties.