You're missing the boat.

It's not that it's all that difficult to be a successful investor, the reality is that is take patience and sacrifice that most people just don't have- they want a nice house, car, boat, whatever NOW.

It is listed as a lakefront property, but the lake it is on is only 4 feet deep, and doesn't hold any fish, nor could you really boat on it (that doesn't really count as a lake in MN if you ask me).My feeling is that this place is really worth about $325K (tax assessed value for this year is $304K).Am I a jerk for wanting to offer $270K less than their asking price (pending our walkthrough tonight goes well and we like the property)? 

I believe we are all on the same boat.

I'll PM you a contact, but he is in the same boat as everyone else - way to busy for small jobs unless there is a good reason he should do business with you. 

A lot of my fancy neighbors struggled more than I did just to make the payments on their own house and boats and cars and other toys.Invest in/own b class 2  bedroom+ rentals.

Understandable, but keep in mind, as soon as you shift that equity to a new property via a 1031, you will be in the exact same boat.

The best part was that the numbers for cash flow were great, so the appreciation was an awesome bonus.There is a shortage of affordable housing in Phoenix and while there are tons of huge newer complexes, the rents at those places are generally higher. did you buy in PHX or are you talking about  Omaha.. the same thing happened in Vegas friend of mine was buying 4 plexs there in 2011 2012 for 140 to 160k he had to put in usually about 7 to 10k a door because they were kind of trashed.. and now they are approaching the 300k range and climbing.. its all about JOBs and blue collar jobs you have those you have your 600 to 1000 dollar renter without them ( that labor force) things start to go downhill.and this is one thing I have been mentioning those that jumped into the game 5 years ago the rising tide raised all boats.. it was a slice in time.. so now we since this continual whining on BP hey there are no deals.. 

I'm on the same boat as you, looking for successful investors who have the time to teach newbies how to run a successful business.I am a REALTOR as well, my plan is to hustle to grow my real estate business, use the capital to deploy it into flips or live & flips, & use newly acquired capital to finance my rental properties.

It is a not easy battling on the MLS sir, i'm in the same boat!