Also plans to attend a few of the REI meetups in Dallas... that will be a challenge b/c I'm a bit on the reserved side.Thinking the first flip project will likely be a partnership with a buddy from Dayton that flips four or five houses a year.  

I can vouch for Portland... this is also fueling the first time home buyer as our median price home payments are less than rent... and we are not an area that has a huge portion of the population credit challenged  great time to be in the PDX market in all phases.

It'll be challenging to get going if your strategy will be to scour on-market listings from abroad.

However, there are plenty of ways to make money buying such cheap property...it depends on who you ask but starting out I suggest going for an easier location to deal with and after  gaining some experience then toy with a more "challenging" area.

I've done 800+ deals and I don't see a crash and would challenge anybody who says there is going to be a crash to document that with evidence. 

But don't ask them to defend it as it is an opinion, not a factual ascertainable rate among area investors!

Another challenge is having the capital to put down to secure the property and have enough left for all the contingency factors I must take into consideration.  

PM has always been challenging, but TK adds a layer of expectation by the buyer/landlord.  

wayne is exactly right. if you do get the high bid and buy it, you then have to get the tenants out of the place. that can be challenging. at that point, you can see what the inside looks like. at this point, if no one gets to see the inside, well, that just means the price you will offer is just that much less. you have to assume, then, that it is a total loss in the inside

I have one association that takes 1 month to approve or deny a renter so it is challenging.