This is the first of many posts from me as I plan to become more active and engage in intellectual discussions to gain more knowledge as I grow from becoming a "newbie" to a more confident professional in the field.

However, it looks to me like they may be priced unrealistically low to attract bids.Assuming you have the credit and income to qualify, and enough for a down payment, then your best bet is to engage a realtor and allow her to work to find a property that fits your parameters.

This in effect gives you a no risk short term option to purchase.Once you have an executed purchase contract, and assuming money for a suitable down payment, you become a serious player in the eyes of a lender.

I look forward to staying motivated and engaging with you all in the forums!

@Tim SimpsonThis is firmly in "engage a CPA territory".I'll provide general answers..."

The big players don't buy on trailing cap rates.

You'll meet local key players and get a chance to build strong relationships.

I had engaged a property management firm early on in the process and they leased the property up within about a month and a half.

Keep in mind syndication is soup D Jour these days.. anytime you have how to syndicate guru's selling systems and training you know they are going for the mass's and not everyone frankly can be that IE a good operator.the two I tagged I know are experienced if they care to engage .. and I know there are plenty of others on BP I just happened to know these two personally. 

Engaging in partnerships is probably a better option, especially if the partner has the income/credit to bail you out if you need to keep the property, or the experience to minimize your mistakes. 5.