Learn as much as you can from your local REIA and search out the players and take them to coffee as Chris suggested and pick their brain.

I don't think competing with BIG housing should prove much trouble for the small and attentive investor.

Mostly all the professional (lawyers, accountants, etc.) who ply their trade in real estate, probate, etc, know or quickly learn who the experienced, well funded players are.

I am a trustee sale investor and, in my area, most of the true big players lay very low.

I also contacted my local sign guy, and see if he could compete with these prices, He quoted me 100 for 85.00, I will have to pick them up.

SFH people are appreciation players.

I am competing with investors making offers on the same house but using a much different model which allows them to have a high offering price and beat me out of a deal.

Things to be negotiated:1) Down payment (most important to me because of cash availability)2) Loan Length (20 years is fair, 30 years is better for a cash flow player but at his age he'll baulk)3) Interest Rate (6% is fair and .5% either way is only about $50 a month)4) Price (I'm long term buy and hold and this is priced below FMV so I'm not real worried about a discount beyond asking)So what would you do?

If one of my apartments didn't have them, the tenants would get them at rent-a-center at high rates and have another monthly expense to compete with the rent.

We often get competing offers the first weekend, and we often have a list of buyers waiting for our houses to finish up so they can have "first dibs."