Cold calling, and my partners and I stopped by the place to meet with him, sat down, and negotiated wed purchase it subject to the existing mortgage.

My comp analysis puts the property value at $110K - $130K max quite honestly (my realtor agrees), and WITHOUT a garage in cold climate like MKE not only does it drive the property value down, it drives the rental interest down.  

We have had really cold weather preventing builders from putting in foundations & closing in houses.

Would you just cold call the owner or do a drive by and see if it's abandoned?

I should probably be preparing for my family to show up for the Holidays, but instead here I am writing this forum post...So I have been cold calling a lot lately and recently received two phone calls back from motivated sellers.

Obviously keep an eye on the MLS and have a good broker to keep you updated, but with so much competition and so few MFs in the area, I highly recommend finding those pockets of MFs and running targeted direct mail/cold call campaigns on those properties.

I live where there are all 4 seasons but the colds are definitely cold enough to freeze pipes if not setup properly. 

I have done cold calling for 2-3 months and I'm not a fan of the time spent vs returns, I got none. 

My system for deals will be direct mail, cold calling and deals brought through networking, as well as offering on MLS deals that have been overlooked, expired etc..

Now for #2: Looking at cap rates in a historical context gives you insight into how hot or cold the market is and, therefore, gives you some idea of where in the real estate cycle the market may be.