We have enough saved up for a down payment on an investment property now, but I'd like to make sure I have a solid plan and have found a great deal before pulling the trigger on anything.I know the market here in Raleigh is crazy, so I'm considering things like direct mail marketing to try and find good deals.

My goal is to learn my local market inside and out and have all of the pieces together before I pull the trigger. 

I pulled a list of absentee buyers in the last six months and have been looking into the individual buyers and whether they have multiple properties.

Some of it is quite specific to the area the writer invests in, but a lot of the ideas are applicable to lower class properties, and get you thinking about things differently (at least for me).We have started pulling out carpet and replacing with laminate or vinyl planks.  

Depending on if you need to have it be a line of credit or just want to pull the cash out it may be worth checking in with places like First Bank and Vectra about their portfolio options.

I've discovered just as many negative responses as positive ones if not more negative, which is why I haven't pulled the trigger.  

After the first year you can get a new appraisal and pull out 80% as non owner occupied and eliminate the PMI.

So, to summarize, take action and start looking, but don't pull the trigger unless you're very confident you've got a great deal.

When analyzing deals, I like to shoot for as high an IRR as possible while still maintaining a decently positive cashflow buffer to prevent me from having to pull money out-of-pocket for common expenses.I've been looking into the Wissinoming area of Philly as well, seems to have an interesting value proposition.

If we DON'T pull the trigger now, and he DOES get out of the service, we are looking at a possibility of our 6 month plan turning into a multi-year plan by the time he has 2 years at a new job to qualify for a mortgage.Obviously we can't tell the future.