I became interested in REI about three months ago, while online spending imaginary lottery money.

Most traditional agents don't want to submit low-ball offers or put in a bunch of them because it is time consuming to them and they don't always understand your end-goal, so I'd recommend you find an agent that is investor-friendly.

Most housing is built in block construction, even during the major downtown I can tell you I tried to sell my home last year and tons of lookers but I made a decision to rent and the renters came out of the wood work it was like hitting the lottery and being able to be very choosy as to whom I put into my home.  

Here are some of the pros and cons:Pros:Gap in the market that can be filled.High likelihood of repeat business from high volume buyers.Because many investors lean heavily on their agents to do legwork, you have a fair bit of control over your sales volume/performance.Your customers tend to be savvy.If you do well, referrals will fly in and you will have a full book of business.Cons:Requires several unique skillsets which are not required in traditional real estate.  

After a lot of time and energy I found that this is what I'd like to do with my life so that I can eventually ditch the traditional working world and have more time to do things that I would like to do. 

He does do the normal Fannie/Freddie loans...but he also does all kinds of non traditional lending, and commercial stuff as well I believe.  

Better used for liquidity for rehabbing, or making cash offers and then refinancing with traditional loans.

You'll talk w sellers who are motivated to sell but it doesn't fit a wholesale model (house in retail condition, no need to sell quickly, etc). pass those folks on to the realtor who can list it the traditional way. 

Depending on the layout, you might be able to easily accommodate traditional HVAC systems.  

@Mark Holencik Sorry Mark, I appreciate your response, I didn't mean regarding paying taxes, I meant as claimable income toward qualifying for traditional financing.