Finding a cash flow property in the SCV or the SFV is not easy and you will have to hunt for a very motivated seller where you can buy at a good enough discount, fix it up, and have it in an area that would support getting close to cash flow which is no easy task as prices have skyrocketed here (although not as much in SCV).

I believe he was motivated to sell because he was evicting a bad tenant.

But best find a reliable plumber/ company whose motives are to help you ,not themselves.

What are you hoping to achieve? 

My main goal is to achieve great cash flow and a great cash on cash return.

As far as motivated sellers, a preforclosure trying to sell on the mls, can I realistically ask for a significant discount if I know I can flip the property quickly with profit(only if I can get them to agree to a relatively steep discount (20% ish)?

Could be the motivating interest in selling now.

You came to the right place to learn more about real estate and connect with other motivated investors.

You came to the right place to learn more about real estate and connect with other motivated investors.

There are plenty of resources on this blog to get started like the Ultimate Real Estate Investing Guide and this article about the BRRR method.You'll want to get a sense of what your motivation for this is; a desire to invest in real estate is a great first step that plenty have, but follow through falls short once people realize they actually need an executable plan.