It worked for me in the past getting started 2016-2018 but I have not seen any deals (at least in FL) I would take the risk in terms of money and time.Best of luck!

What does a good deal look like for both the seller and me?

Grand Rapids is an excellent investment opportunity for the long game where appreciation and equity build up are the priorities. 

I guess I am in the wrong so my bad on this.Perhaps I am coming from a perspective of a conventional strategy where banks  barely interact with their borrowers and treat them like a statistic on their Excel spreadsheet - again my bad on this.

I am VERY certain I have made some (or many) mistakes or left money on the table or overpaid etc... but all of these deals are cash flow positive after all costs + vacancy and maintenance. 

If the assessor doesn't count the sqft then that fact will come out during the escrow process and could sink the deal. 

We allow the seller to leave anything behind they don’t want to deal with, and we minimize disruptions by arranging only one showing.

But if the condo would have been possible it would have been a great deal.

Those deals are gone now.

Use tools like BiggerPockets and house-buying apps to check if deals are good.