There are several different methods that could work in the area based on how much your budget is.

(We agreed on a purchase price of $40k).

I currently have $150K equity in my current home and $300K cash on hand.

I am having trouble finding distressed properties with enough "meat on the bones" to make enough money on the deal.  

I tried searching on BP first.

I have had a fair amount of recent success because I offer a pretty high rate of 11% secured by note and deed of trust on my houses in va and nc  but want to hear other peoples success stories besides local meetups.

I can check it out and give you some feedback on how to bring occupancy rate or ADR up or if the move would be to go a different direction based on the data. 

You are only really assessing based on CAP rate which tells me you are only looking online and assuming their CAPs are correct.

Almost like trying to bet on the next Amazon.

I wanted to prove to myself that I could complete a project on my own.