But not a dump or "war zone" by any means. 

I don't want to be in a bidding war with other investors who are willing to pay more than me.

Why mess around with your none binding LOI if they are getting numerous other offers on state approved contract forms?

If there are really four legal units, it might be OK.Watching HGTV is NOT a good way to get educated about TV any more than watching Star Wars is a good way to get educated about science.Here's my quick and dirty analysis assuming four units per building:Propertyprice: $200,000 rehab: $0 rent/unit, monthly: $600 units: 4price/unit: $50,000 gross rent, monthly: $2,400 gross rent, annual: $28,800 cap rate: 7.2%Financingdown%: 20%rate: 4.500%amortization, years: 30down: $40,000 loan: $160,000 pmt, monthly: $810.70 pmt, annual: $9,728.36 total cash investment: $40,000.00 Analysis with property managementexp ratio : 50%NOI, month: $1,200 cash flow, month: $389.30 noi annual: $14,400 CF annual: $4,671.64 COC: 11.7%Analysis with self managementexp ratio : 36%NOI, month: $1,536 cash flow, month: $725.30 noi annual: $18,432 CF annual: $8,703.64 COC: 21.8%

I am just starting my educational process with regards to real estate investing and as I listen to numerous podcasts the topic of mentors is consistent. 

Most of the properties I am buying fall around 25-45K and most have wear and tear but are not dumps, no section 8, and are not in war zones.  

Lucky, the new house I built on the lot went into a biding war.

We have the lots priced below bank-owned properties (numerous developer-owned lots that never sold and were foreclosed on).  

Postlets posts your ad to numerous websites for you (zillow, hotpads, etc.), and then when you take the ad down, you just do it once (from your Postlets account) and it removes all the ads on all the sites within 24 hours (usually within just a couple hours). 

I'd talk to numerous RE agents, follow articles in the LA Times about this, go to RE meet ups in the area, search this forum, and try to make an assessment on that.