This would be very targeted niche marketing focusing on one or two particular niches.

Then once you have a network built you can look and target specific properties that you know one of your contacts will purchase from you.

But the house and neighborhood are my target area.  

If you know your target market inside and out and know the numbers, you can be successful.

I'm coming in from a background in private equity, where limited partners typically target a ~25% IRR.

My target area is B- to B+ neighborhood.

David I did not check it out in detail but I have been funding buy and hold investors from out of country and state that are targeting some of the little burgs were you can buy houses that are pretty nice for the price of a used or new car.. not sure the long term value play but they seem to like them.. will see how it all shakes out ..

Ads, target NON motivated sellers.

The fact of the matter is that I have stone cold data that says: you will be a lot more successful NOT targeting absentee owners.

It just comes down to what your target rate is.