The only major difference is the appraisals from the private companies aren't as absurdly strict as the mortgage companies so you're less likely to see a ridiculously low appraisal with them.

That's absurd.

Sponsor a Little League team or volunteer to coach kids or do Habitat for Humanity, etc.

@Dale Moller-"Deals often don't make it to market, often going straight to said investors with a track record of closing quickly"...or to those who dig for deals differently instead of the common approach of yellow letters to out-of-state homeowners.Also, be human and build a relationship with your seller.

If the location is habitable by humans, then I'm open to invest.My second filter is that I personally need to be able to visit.That means zero Muslim countries because they don't accept Jews, especially Jews who have an Israeli stamp on their passport.The third filter would be that it must be in an area that I can conduct reasonable amounts of research on from my computer, so if there are no English resources for me to research, then the odds of buying are slim to none.I have properties on both coasts of the US, but nothing international yet.

Nothing about the seller gives me cause to be alarmed, except that he is a human, and humans sometimes are unethical.Current owner holds deed, so there is no current financing on the property.

That's absurdly cheap for a triplex.

Locally, our Habitat for Humanity builds for about $80/sf using donated materials and time.

The REI skids are getting greased as the months roll by.Be aware of your own personal limits, the human mind is feeble - track everything on spread sheets, trust the numbers and don't try to get 'creative' with the numbers.

We, as human, tends to look for that path of least resistance.