Has anyone found a more useful method?

If you don't feel comfortable doing such a large deal you might consider including a more experienced partner or a mentor.

It appears that there are about 142,000 residential non-owner occupied properties in my county.What criteria would you recommend that I use to whittle this number down to a more manageable number of leads that are the most likely to be profitable acquisitions?

I believe I can have more quaility tenents that will make my units a more desirable place to live.

You have to realize the business model whether he or any of 'them' will admit is to UPSELL you into a more expensive product.

I could tell you a more complicated answer, but the short one is "yes" to all.

or should I turn it over to a more experienced investor since the repairs that I would make would come through a contractor which would probably increase the actual repair costs?

Being in person usually prompts a more immediate response.

Though I think just by the nature of what a lot of people in this site do, they are probably going to see things in a more right-ish, capitalist kind of way.

:roll: What you want is for it to rain on you in a more desirable form.