Do NOT skip this step!

As others have mentioned, the first and most vital step that can NEVER be skipped is performing your due diligence on the contractor or sub.

Definitely skip.

Since I went d4d and I'm not a licensed realtor...I not sure what direction to go.I did start my preliminary skip tracing methods, and I did source the owners names and addresses from my local county property assessors website...and some of them have out of state owners.But for the others where the houses are owner occupied....is there a way for me to find out if the property is under water?

My agent went to work without skipping a beat, discrediting the listing agent and presenting what he thought the home was worth and why, I of course followed his lead with much somber head nodding and "oh that's a really good point" type comments.

On the skip trace topic, does anyone have good suggestions for reliable/cost effective skip trace sites?

You can give the list to a wholesaler who will skip trace the owners do the leg walk and pay you afterwards.There is a bird dog that sends me lists.

go to town hall. find the bulletin board where they post upcoming auctions (mandated by law) and sift through the unorganized postings and find addresses in the neighborhoods you are looking for -you can see which attorney is representing the auction. give them a call and they will tell you the date and time the auction is scheduled for.Or skip the trip to the bulletin board and go to:auction.comforeclosure.comthey tell you the debt collector too and the date and location of the auction.

This sounds to me like an excellent way of doing a BRRR while skipping the seasoning, right?

According to the site bidding starts at $60K.Thanks for heads up on the rental in the HOA community, it skipped my mind.