I have personally had my biggest wholesale profit from this system which was up to $24k (If you need proof let me know), and we continue to profit from this list.

Again, just to show we had experience.The biggest difference overall in dealing with a portfolio lender is they have the flexibility in most cases to be the ultimate decision maker on whether you get a loan or not.  

One of the biggest of these is advantages is leverage, and that is an area where @Joe Villeneuve excels.

I think there are many reasons for this-Many that are successful are not that worried about 1-2 extra unitsThere are a lot of PMs that are failed landlords/agents in this area and might not be the people you want to work withAgents that are PMs on the side, that manage in their "left over" time*The biggest one everywhere, the Pm has to care (ie- have your best interest, not just filling a unit).

For me, the biggest thing to make investing in Southwest Philadelphia worth while would have to be proper management.

Also - after telling me several times that my loan was approved at the last moment they came back and said that the appraisal was done on existing value not the rehabbed value so they declined the loan - this was done by their appraiser The biggest gripe I have is that they REQUIRED that I also had to borrow the money for doing the rehab and would have to pay a fee for them to come inspect the work every time I completed a phase and needed a draw to pay contractor that did that work. 

We had a ton of equity but couldn't access it.Our two biggest mistakes?  

The biggest drawback to Auction.com is there is a lot of competition and they use shill bidders to drive the price up

To me those are two of the biggest keys to success in business and they should be nurtured, not abandoned.In closing, do whatever you need to do to get started.

Some of your biggest costs may be hidden.