The large difference is due to risk and time commitment.IMO, the sweet spot is to add value in real estate and get that 10-20x multiple on the value added (with as little "business" activity as feasible (i.e. leverage 3rd parties)).

That is normally not possible if you pay retail market value, since if you need or choose to sell you will incur ~10% transaction fees ... without a discount, that is a 10% loss.

Account Closed,"Pre-foreclosure" covers a lot of ground.Some will need to be acquired thru short sale due to negative equity.Some will be probates where the family just doesn't want to deal with it.Some will be true financial hardships - illness, loss of income, etc.So, yeah - you'll need to "fill your quiver" with a lot of knowledge and skills and use what the deal requires.

What path would you take to recoup a loss in this situation?

Because trying to read, not to mention work, with an Excel file on a phone is just not feasible.

I don't know it is something feasible though or what State they should go with. 

I want to get in on a market that is seeing house prices jump by 20% /year on average, but not at a monthly loss on cash flow.Suggestions?

I fear you're setting on a white elephant and will incur long term losses until you unload it. 

The below market rental units would be raised gradually to market or raised when the units turned.Duplex Numbers (All three together)All Monthly Payments: $1600  (Repairs for empty units will be on an LOC and payment on that is included here) Taxes: $500 per month ($6000 per year) - I think I can get these loweredInsurance: $1200 per yearMonthly Income (($630 + 725) * 3) = $4065 when fully rented - Should be feasible by April 1$4065 -1600(pmts)-500(tax set aside)-100(ins set aside) = 1865 remaining$1865 - 325.20 (PM) - 600 (reserves) = $940 remainingThanks for reading this far!

Otherwise, you're still insuring the structure from loss.