occasionally the greater fool theory would take hold and someone would buy it at tax sale and an overage was created..

I think biggerpockets may move files occasionally and I posted this a while back.

You might also think about looking south and east of LA (Hawthorne, South LA, Cypress, Pomona), and keep your eyes peeled for the occasional deal that pops up in LA.

This could be as simple as meeting up for coffee occasionally to discuss deals.

Here's an acronym that I occasionally use: S.O.L.Some years ago, I was in contract to buy a large, expensive parcel of land.

Just a friendly note enquiring to see if you would be interested in selling this property either today or sometime in the near future.I’m just a regular guy here in Inverness with a wife and two children, I buy an occasional property or two from folks that don’t want a hassle, but do want to be done with whatever problems or burdens their property represents.I pay all cash, don’t require financing and will take on just about anything as is in its present condition Most often using 1st American Title here in Inverness to draw up the paperwork and close the deal quickly and efficiently.

Any loan is going to be made on the basis of LTV, it's just a matter of how the "V" is established.In a typical bank loan, V is considered the lower of purchase price or appraisal, where the appraisal is completed on an "as is" basis (no assumed repairs).In a hard money loan (or occasionally a rehab loan with a bank, but these are getting very scarce), V will be based on a "subject to" appraisal, or what the home will be worth when renovated in a manner to bring it into the top tier of condition for that retail market.Hard money lenders might use the expression Loan-to-Cost (LTC) as well, which reflects the total investment that will be made in the property (purchase price + rehab costs).So a hard money lender might say "we'll loan up to 65% ARV, but no more than 90% LTV/LTC".

However, most of my family is in West Michigan, so I will be making trips home occasionally.

I go to Rochester occasionally.

Owner occupants started looking at duplexes and the occasional 3-4 unit depending on configuration driving those prices up to unreasonable levels.