Search for sold listings and filter it by financing type (cash is normally one of the options)

Useless info: the smell is from an added chemical usually mercaptan because it is very easily detectable by smell in very small amounts.

Most claims aren't total losses, so if the house is in a depresssed market and sells for say $40k and has a fire in the kitchen...could easily be $20k in (retail) repairs and they're getting premiums on $40k, the math doesn't work like it normally would. 

Pay the extra 10 cents per name for the EQUITY % filter when you buy the list - otherwise you could spend $5 mailing to people (over 6 months) that have absolutely no fit to what you offer.Most people should start with an absentee list with equity.  

I could pretty easily have a team of rehabbed for the construction.I'm also fortunate to know a couple of really good real estate brokers for the disposition. 

Also a investor should avoid ARM (adjustable rate mortgages) as they could very easily lose their investment when the interest rate spikes up.  

I don't let tenants change HVAC filters because if they are installed backwards, they restrict airflow and can damage a unit.

I stay within a basic protocol of 3 bedroom starter homes that I can easily sell one day when I am ready to move on…  That said, I am looking at a few condos (that were coverted from apartments) for super cheap.  

With the rental income I can easily save over 1000 every month and use that for the next project.

Computer models also benefit from lots of tuning, machine learning, and if the company is good some really expert tweaks to take into account things newer folks would miss.Doing it manually is great because a person can sometimes easily see something that the computer model misses, and can take into account other things - conversations with owners, etc - that the computer model simply can't.Generally I find the computer models do better on cookie cutter deals, and people do better on unusual deals.