If a note buyer has a brain they will see the sale was inflated, predatory lending and the note would be so heavily discounted he wouldn't break even.

There is still room in the budget to make the whole process worth while and it's good education for my first flip ;-)Also, here a video I created using a software modeling tool called HGTV Home design.  

How much of a discount is the seller giving you for the current condition/ market value of the property?

But if you can get a discount to buy at the end of the school year when the buildings are the roughest, then why not take advantage of the situation and do $2-5K worth of freshening after buying?

I am currently working on a Homepath deal and it will be a great investment IF I can get a deeply discounted price.

Do you have any idea how much those notes were typically discounted, or how to find out?

If there are no agents involved on either side and you and the seller have come to terms that you agree upon and just want to have an agent facilitate the transaction for you, many times you can find an agent to write up the contracts for the terms you have agreed upon for a discounted rate since the agent will not have to do many of the duties they would normally do on a deal (marketing the property, showing the property, negotiating, etc).I hope this is helpful.

But for me my number 1 source is Proquest Technologies.It's appears pricey at $200 a month, then I have to generate my flyers and advertisement in getting the system to work for me...AND IT WORKS FOR ME :-) Overall and bottom line it works and it works well.I have no dog in the fight, I get no referral for people signing up, so dropping my name will not get you any discount.

I now use a service through my property management software where they pay electronically and it clears much faster or they can pay at any 7-Eleven or Ace Cash Express using a coupon I mail them.

During the boom a few years back there were a lot of discount brokers offering reduced fees and sometimes sliding scale...