@Chelsea Knapp I am looking around east Buffalo in the Depew, Lancaster, Elma, and Cheektowaga areas as well as some stuff near Canisius college as those are the areas that my girlfriend and I are most knowledgeable about.

@Scott M. dunno about where you are but the program sucks in Illinois and a huge percentage of people are being denied (for silly administrative stuff even)

If the building has a new roof/furnace/etc, you theoretically don't need to put as much aside since the big stuff is new.

It's highly unlikely that a broker does commercial stuff, but I guess there's a chance.

Good stuff.

People live in neighborhoods where this type of stuff happens and don't move.

Would you recommend any educational stuff which might give me a fresh perspective on how I should be looking at the properties ?

I would recommend getting the basics of the basics on the process before approaching a mentor, save them for the advanced stuff :) This being said, you shouldn't have a hard time picking this up if you know how to manage a project/crew.- find a home that needs repair, preferably off market so you don't compete with retail buyers.- walk the property with a contractor or specialty contractor(s) (electrician, plumber depending on the issues) to get an estimate(s) of the rehab.  

Great stuff!!!

After awhile you will get an idea what the insurance will run.How did you arrive at your repair and capex costs?