I honestly love some healthy competition.

I figure if a novice can do it maybe I will have a competitive edge.

My experience with HUD homes is that the bidding is pretty competitive once the owner-occupant window is up.  

I started a blog (www.miamirealestateinvestorshq.com)for local Miami / South Florida Real Estate Investors to provide articles and information to aid them in navigating the very diverse and competitive market real estate market.If anybody would like to write a guest post about anything related to the Miami real estate market, it can be featured on the website and act as a source of free advertising / name recognition for you, but more importantly to help fellow investors. 

Some factors to consider are that there will be some new condos which are in the planning stages to be built next to mine so I'm concerned there will be more competition, still it's California and I don't see this property going too far down in value because of that, but not surehere are the numbersmy rental-condo - one exactly like mine just sold for 269K currently receive $1200 mo. from renter but have HOA of 320 mo.this condo is paid offOrshould I stick it out and see if the value of the condo goes up in a few years and then sell? 

Massive Success At Baykeeper San Rafael Canal CleanI have the incredible pleasure of belonging to a competitive Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe Club in San Rafael.

If investors are they flipping or creating a huge competition pool by creating rentals?

You can spot those types as they usually are offensive attacking those who are more advanced, not based on the technical side but to personal attempts to discredit others they see as competition.

I root for stock market to go up, because when the market starts going down, investors start looking at other investments and real estate is generally the # 1 alternative to stock market and that means more competition from other investors.

I have a tendency to over-repair and I'm trying to balance that, but I'd rather over repair than under repair as I do find that it's so much easier to find a good renter quicker, especially when your unit is better than what the competition is offering, it will definitely stand out.Let me know if you end up purchasing flooring, cabinets, etc yourself, I can suggest some  places I've used so that you don't pay more than you have to for the material.