that's my focus going forward, meet with my realtor, title company, find more money sources, talk to my contractor contacts, etc.thanks.

Local newspapers can sometimes be a good source but rarely a quick source of info.I often look for the city's "comprehensive financial report" (put out by the city itself) which lists major employers.

The best thing you can do is be an outstanding source of information for them.  

That said; in my experience if your seller is offering only partial financing and you are going to your local lender for the balance, it would be the lender who may regulate what type and source of secondary financing you may place on the property.

Thank you to everyone who replied, it's always nice to get second opinions and feedback from other sources.

And with that said I've built my own real estate team, source my own deals at deep discounts.  

It wouldn't be smart to just rely on one source.

I paid a point per year and 6% interest.So if I lend out at 2 points one point is gone to my money source... and I will make money on the delta 6% per year... but with tiny loans its such small money you simply cant make it workNow  one nice thing about the market is that conventional  banks have stepped into financing lower value rentals again..

It's normally a pretty worked market from investors.The fact that you have to go to the courthouse actually sounds like an advantage as not as many people will be doing that, but there may be vendors that source the data.Do some bigger pockets searches with respect to probate data and letters, the questions you're certain to run up against in the next few weeks as you try and put it together.As for filing those leads, good luck, lol, it's a bear any way you do it (as I recently discovered).Best of luck,  JTM

What is the main source of employment for the town?