The vast majority of the truly off-market deals (if they exist in this stage of the cycle) are fed to a few choice buyers who the commercial agents have a solid relationship with. 

They have enough income (>3x) and it is steady although credit history isn’t great (550) - vast majority is due to medical collections for which they get disability.  

The shame of it all is that the vast majority of investors like us are trying our hardest to ensure we are complying with all laws.

The vast majority of the properties, that had anyone bid against the bank, were run up to CLOSE TO the "appraised" value (yes I know that isn't a reliable number) but this is where they ended.Thanks!

That, of course, is based on my vast real estate investing experience :)

I'm in the Akron / Canton Ohio area and have a very diverse market here, but with that come a vast array of different people to talk to.

Schools are a nice plus, but I think overall, it is more of factor for home buyers....Pinellas County is all a single school district which leads to even worse management because it's a vast area.  

I have some classics of landlord lit in a blog post (most should be in a library free) and there are lots of flop resources here too.

And I have a blog post on classics of landlord literature (all should be free at the library)... 

There is a vast amount of information and people are very helpful.