As long as the buyer is being reasonable I believe an agent should be a team-member that is willing to try new things regardless of market location.I totally get it I have been a broker for 44 years in the distressed asset space but I also grew up in Cupertino and I have down literally thousands of transactions in the mid west in the ( what I call low value asset)  Ie under 100k SFR space..

SFR portfolio transactions by institutional investors are a great thing to look out for in your markets (especially in distressed neighborhoods). 

Let me explain, I saved up as much money I could and bought my first property distressed with all my own cash.

Again it's all about what you want, buying a distressed property for an investment is tough, because an end user is typically willing to pay more than you or a contractor that can do the work themselves or for cost can afford to pay more than you.

Driving and looking for distressed properties is another method. 

I just getting started in REI and have been considering the purchase of a distressed SFR in the Memphis and/or Jackson TN area. 

I just getting started in REI and have been considering the purchase of a distressed SFR in the Memphis and/or Jackson TN area. 

By applying these filters (just using excel on the .csv file download from the site) I end up with a list of properties that are probably/likely to be vacant or at least very distressed.

I found a distressed property owner, Regina, who a few years ago entered into an agreement with a guy, we'll call him Mike.

The house was very outdated/distressed when we bought it and we've already rehabbed completely the master bedroom and master bath, so we think we'd get a higher appraisal already.