I have had good success with this but it can be pretty labor intensive.

That said it has been very time intensive taking/returning the calls.  

I've been trying to  weigh out the pros and cons of getting my Real Estate License as well.Con: I realize the intense level of customer service requires that you make yourself available at ridiculous hours to appease overly caffeinated clients. 

I did bid on a couple of residential vacant land in Urban area.I use Land use code and lien face value range to filter all properties I like.After putting together a list, I start doing research one by one by using county office website, google maps, Zillow and EPA website.I bid at 5-8% for first three batches but got nothing because winners for properties I bid on are at 2%-4%, some even 1%.I adjusted my bidding rate for later batches.I won 8 bids in total. 7 of them are properties with house on it at low rate. 1 of them is residential vacant land at higher rate.I made payment for all my winning bids on the day of results.waiting for tax lien certificate.....Hope this is helpful to other newbies.

Should whatever rule of thumb you use for a "good deal" be adjusted on the idea of future inflation?

We won't manage properties for 8% on the south side because it is labor intense.

This is a more time-intensive method, but can give you more insight than you'll find online outside of the owner's name. 

While none of this aligns with what I look at now, it was good reminder to look at where I was at and think about adjustments.  

HiI am about to start a new job and wanted to get some clarity on how adjusted gross income can negatively impact both my 401K and Roth Ira.

It struck me in this meeting that note buying is capital and research intensive, fraught with risk.