It's probably not the best practice to use a percentage of gross rents to determine your expenses and underwrite a property.

. #1 plus just practice being an agent passively. 

@Scott Passman The overall condition of the property (affecting future repairs) and the ongoing management (practices that generate cash flow) are going to have THE greatest impact on your overall long term performance. 

These groups are huge for hearing about best practices and ways you can improve your next investment or make your current investment more profitable.  

A couple things to keep in mind is that the property taxes are pretty high and there is practically no appreciation.

The wholesale market is wild, unregulated and although I agree that someone who doesn't have a fair business practice would not survive for long, those bad apples effect the rest of the industry.Chris, if I thought that the person who offered me that property is doing something illegal or grossly unethical, I would exposed that person on this site.

Hello RE friends,In an effort to move beyond theory (e.g. reading, speculating, postulating) and into practice there was a need to invest in a commodity.

It turns out that reporting TO THE AGENCIES is not practical.

The last two are practically non-existent in our area of Southern California.I have a few wholesalers out there looking for me, but none have brought me anything.

Then go to as many REO properties as you can and practice your skill set.Here is some more info that should help you:Break up the home into sections - Kitchen, baths, flooring, paint, stucco, landscaping, plumbing (including fixtures), electrical (including fixtures), HVAC, interior doors, door casings/baseboards, windows/sliders/front door, roof, foundation, misc., and garage.Once you know what the common costs are for each area for a specific size home, you can see how easy it will become to walk in and walk out 15 minutes later with a rehab figure in your head.For instance, I know that a full gut and remodel including new toilet, new vanity, mirror, sink, glass door enclosure, stone/tile on shower walls, etc will run me $2500 per bathroom.