A scope of work provided with an application is clearly an estimate as you can't see behind the walls/ know to the dollar what things will cost etc. 2) do all HMLs require inspections and appraisals (therefore you must keep these contingencies and make your offer less attractive vs cash buyers)?

Tony Marcelle I bought around 1/4 of my total units off the MLS and the rest were mainly from targeted direct mail and other ways of contacting the owners of off-market properties including cold-calling and Facebook messenger.

The things that come to mind are;1) If you are buying a starter home would you consider giving the upstairs/main (better) suite to renters and increasing your cash flow?

Are those the main savings to them, and the main cost here is the 1% fee on the 2.45 Million.Thank you,Doug

That has become our main strategy that we use and like @Jason Dillard shared, it is more lucrative and less hassle to manage.The way we use this model is we buy properties under market value that are below the median home price for our area and then we fix them up where our all in is 75% of the ARV and then we put them on the market for 5-7% above current market value on a 4-year option.The key to using this model is the contracts that are used.  

Mainly, focus on being honest and real with sellers and seeing how you can help them. 

Some condo properties rent weekly to which in my opinion is a lot of hassle, maintenance due to high traffic, and attract some not so good renters occasionally; and with high management fees too.

Anyways, the main point of this post is that I would like to start networking with local investors to learn more about getting into real estate investing.How would you guys recommend I do so?

unfortunately the three people i had come out and look at it said that by repairing the driveway they would likely cut the main root of the tree and kill it. 

Do you mainly do multi-family?