For fun (ok, maybe fun is not the right word to use) I used to put Ron's CDs in my car & drive down I-10 to the border of mexico & back so I could devote the time to listening to them.

Your goal in this is to get an accurate estimate of the property’s Net Operating Income (NOI) as this drives the property value based upon your desired return.The return you are looking for is up to you.

If he paid 58k and failed to do anything to bring the apts out of the 70's its safe to assume that there is a 3k to 4k per door minimum in upgrades to bring it up to date back into this century.

It is hard to believe they could be so emotional about how they buy.As to buying sight unseen I do that everyday but I assume 10K inside into my buy price and I drive by before offering.One would have to assume the show is total staged television.

My actual terms were 1% above CD rates and .7 was the highest they could find.So don;t be afraid to drive the rate down in exchange for paying a bit more.

Are there any areas that you can get into with less money, that you can drive to reasonably?

You need to look at what things (demographic shifts, income shifts, industry trends, etc) will drive certain areas up and down.

In both cases I would have a professional company manage the property.Does that seem like a safe bet ?

You're likely either looking for a good retail listing agent (if your leads have equity and are interested in selling) or you're looking for a good short sale agent (if your leads don't have equity and want to sell short).If you're looking for a retail listing agent, drive the neighborhoods where your leads tend to be, and look for the agents who seem to be selling the most houses in that area, that price range and that style of house (you can see the agents by the signs they put in the yards).

Driving your car on a sidewalk or playing with fireworks in the middle of the crowd are two examples that come to mind.