For example you could buy a retail shop in a town that is about to have a highway built to skip past it, and nobody could come in any longer.  

If they skipped, it may be almost impossible.

These negative cash flow properties are rarely profitable investments, compared with other investment options a buyer could have chosen.Experienced real estate investors only buy properties that are cash-flow positive — based on conservative estimates — and skip those pesky negative cash flow deals.

I think from a liability standpoint this is smart too because if you skip the restoration and just get a contractor in there....God forbid something happen down the road, you may be liable since you had knowledge that there was fire damage.

@Timothy Howdeshell I would skip the MBA.

I definitely think you should skip the masters and jump into real estate investing if that is where your passion is.

I've been skipping that step so far!

This particular property went right to Zillow and skipped the MLS initially so in theory I was first to see it within hours, get in it, and then offer.

This particular property went right to Zillow and skipped the MLS initially so in theory I was first to see it within hours, get in it, and then offer.

I've found that skip tracing for returned letters can be quite effective, especially for land deals because those often get forgotten.