Usually, you are better buying a home of the MLS because people over bid the government repos, expecting it to still be a bargain.  

As far as vacation rentals in Las Vegas - those are largely illegal now and if not illegal, very regulated. 

Dig in to the data, look at the occupancy, average daily rate, seasonality, regulations, etc.

(totally fixable,  but see point 1)5)   Increasingly complex, risky, and punitive seattle rental regulation ordinances already on the books6)   Winter Rent Control is coming.   

If you do not take ownership of it and try and broker / wholesale it, a Note by the SEC is a security instrument and may be very similar to a stock, so in order to broker it you need to be licensedI do not know anyone who has ever had a complaint or been slapped by a financial regulator for this but if you talk to an attorney most will take the cautious route and say brokering without a license is a violation

I've been passively looking at commerical opportunities on cape cod but this market is extremely challenging with an much regulation, historic preservation, flood zoning and septic issues. 

I believe it's not a matter of if this will happen but when.That said, there are many areas in Detroit that are going to require serious investment, likely from the corporate or government side of things.

The rules and regulations for wholesaling are not usually posted anywhere. 

I'd recommend contacting the GIS specialist for the local government.

That's a statistic from the SM government.