I will say that in both cases, I did not set out to find "no money down deals". 

Also I get this set up with a title company that can take the funds from my buyer and uses it for my purchase.

Set up Google alerts for certain city's that interest you.

We have done a tremendous amount of research to date, but are hoping to find some folks who are already succeeding to lend us some wisdom in exchange for shameless food based bribery.We have a solid background in property rehab and estimating and one of us knows a little about the law, but we could really use some advice from those of you who were actually able to stop researching - and start investing.Are there any investor-friendly agents or investing pro's out there who would be willing to set up some time to chat?   

Looking to hearing from you and setting up some meetings for the next couple of weeks.Jimmy Shatara

The foreclosure process is complex and full of pitfalls, I would strongly suggest consulting with a Real Estate Attorney in your locality; depending on how your set up, you may be able to write off the expenses incurred in obtaing the legal advice. 

Different sets of repairs require different types of labor, but for the most part you’re going to want licensed contractors of some variety.

back taxes are a great list but be prepared to act quickly on something as they are under the gun to sell or redeem before a set day. 

Choose the most reasonable estimate (notice I did not say the cheapest) Now, you can set up a maintenance budget within your savings.

Waterloo would work as long as we are are talking at least 2 sets.