That is what I have done, after years of trying to justify local purchases, and went for cash flow and a more passive investment.  

You can also do some snooping on your own, like if there is a mortgage against the property, or how much a person of his age/previous income would get in SS, etc.If you find something concerning, you can either choose to have a more pointed finance conversation (which he will probably not take very well), or you can adjust your own finances to plan for his likely future dependence upon you.My old people are much younger than yours but between snooping the public records and general conversations we've determined that we will just plan for them to need us to step in and help financially a couple of decades from now.  

The takeaway so far is, the "average" that you think you are looking for is a more complicated set of ideas than the initial question allows.  

I’m not saying I know everything, but I do know what an agent's job is, why they feel the way they do, etc… I merely wanted to know how a more seasoned wholesaler would deal with such a situation and am glad to know my reasoning wasn't that far off.

Or perhaps seeing about owner financing, or if someone else has a more creative way of funding it that could make more money long term?!

Use all the information you have access to and you will have a more complete picture of the value. 

The potential for appreciation in the future, for us, is purely a bonus at this point.We utilized traditional methods and conventional financing for each of these first three houses, but are interested in learning from others who have taken a more creative approach to both lead generation/marketing and finance.  

How is 10 am or noon?  

They will help you build a more complete strategy, which ever way you decide to take it.

Some people may be better served by simply taking action, whereas others (like myself) need to take a more calculated approach.It's been several years since my first direct mail campaign, but from what I can recall - I sent out 106 postcards on my first try, and I got 6 responses.