Check with the "seasoning period" of the bank you wish to refinance with.

If someone offers 100% financing in the debt area (esp at a low rate) and esp if newbies are welcome its probable something is wrong.

My question to all of you is what would be the most effective way to find leads in a relatively low-volume market such as this?

With low financials for a first deal; your pitch, passion, and niche will be more important than trying to meet straight numbers.

In my mind, there are two big barriers to doing off-market:1) At low volume, there isn't justification for me to do my own marketing. 

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way to obtain financing with low money down (< 10%) that is not "owner occupied?" 

Hoping May was a strange, seasonal blip.  

Probably the greatest mistake was aiming too low.

I have done everything from a single unit rental for 700k to buildings in the low 9 figures; but most of the properties were in the 5 - 50 million dollar range.I am no longer employed by them and now just do some appraisal in my free time.  

But a % change can be very high when the basis (i.e. denominator) is very low to begin with.