You can than contact that realtor and say, "I'm interested in your property @ XXX Street and any other similar properties, can you set up a search for me...."

For me it would really depend on the numbers for that property and what I intended to do with it later. 

I personally put my money to work for me in RE, and I make significantly more of a return then the TSP could ever give me.

I call this strategy the Multiple Choice Offers Strategy.It worked so well for me the first time I tried it, that I ended up getting 5 offers accepted in about 30 days.

Personally for me the closest I get to using Big data is looking at the different ways companies are packaging the information on mortgage origination reports, I like to see how investors are buying on the debt side to make the numbers work.

You're welcome - say hi to Nick for me!

No cats is a must for me.

I play in Box Elder and Weber and Buy and Hold, I think it has worked out fine for me, need to remember you make money on the purchase...so you have to be careful make sure the numbers work with the rents in the market.

I am thinking that focusing on single family homes might be best for me since I am looking to buy properties in the $100k range and add around $50k of renovations. 

So for me, these numbers would not work.