Hey Sam,The best areas to invest would be those where you have a competitive advantage - especially in this market!

Yes, MLS is a good resource for deals but mostly for "single base" hits since you face such a high level of competition.

MLS, low competition, only person offering How did you finance this deal?

I do appreciate that the VA looks out for it's buyers, but sure does make it hard to make a competitive offer in this market :-). 

This will make your offers much more competitive and is an easier product to find right now than 203k.BTW this advice also goes for conventional rehab loans. 

You're going to want to look for SFH's close to the city, which are highly competitive right now.

State Auto is the company that I quoted the other locations with and are competitive.

That will cost also....And you may not need to be so "Architectural Digest" with everything to get the look you want...for the customer base you hope to attract...What does the competition offer might be a good place to start your designs off with.Good Luck!

I know that Big Bear tends to be more popular, and there is more to do there, but it also seems like a very saturated market with vacation rentals, so competition would be very high there.

I do have a few properties but I haven't bought anyhting in a several years and I'm amazed at how competitive its all gotten.