It looks good on paper when I need to get financing.  

At 3% for me I can't afford to put an ad in the paper, spend time getting it across the MLS and other sites.

We did get recognized in Sunset Magazine's top 20 smaller towns in the West a month or so ago and the local paper was like - Shhh!  

That said, what I usually do is vet enough properties to get viable options on paper (at least 5-6) and then fly out to see them.

I am looking at a property that on paper creates substantial cash flow and the price is right.

Draw (on a piece of paper) a process for accomplishing this. 

Getting a lender that just issued a Clear To Close to switch up and sign a piece of paper that is not a standard boiler plate piece but something drafted up at the last minute may just not be able to happen.

I've seen great cash flowing (C) areas on paper turn into money pits due to prolonged vacancy, crime, and too-often-recurring capex expenses.

So, if there is a turd in the toilet, I know I'm getting a good deal because it eliminates 99% of retail buyer competition, and it is usually an easy fix: 1)turn on water, 2)flush, 3)replace toilet for $100.Oh, and one of the more ironic ones found once was a complete VHS set of a get rich quick real estate guru package ... it was in a foreclosure I bought, so I guess that particular system did not work as advertised.

I land lorded in NYC for over 30 years and nearly all legal 2 family units has a 3rd unit, usually a walk in unit, legally built with a toilet, but converted to a bathroom with a kitchen thrown in.