I would do this first before engaging an agent unless you are extremely active.

Talk to your tax advisor about how to release your passive activity losses based on your situation.This post does not create a CPA-Client relationship.

One key tip as you begin is to connect with local investors who are active in the markets you're considering.

Active?

The process is very involved as you'll have to navigate pre-construction activities that involve architectural plans and approval from the city and then the construction activities (Shovel to soil) take anywhere from 5-9 months depending on how much your building. 

Since Joe is not a registered lender, Joe is not held to the same standards as a lender and the sale could be a wreckless and poor activity by the bank putting Bob in that situation.

That way you know they are active in the BP community!

Calling the appraiser to see what you can do to push it up a "C-Level" would be smart before doing any reno also, might only need a few things to make it far more valuable in the eyes of the bank.I've heard of a tactic for figuring out demand, which is to put up a dummy or coming soon listing on facebook marketplace and see the amount of activity you get on it. 

@Grayson Chao look up WAREI on Facebook as that is a big active group of local investors and a number of meetups get advertised there. 

Our clients are very active in buying pre-foreclosures.