If they are in the neighborhood you like and they look clean and well maintained, call and get an appointment to see the inside.Ask the local police which neighborhoods have the least crime (or, I don't know, the most prostitution and drugs if you are looking for a disapated neighborhood, everybody likes something different).Craigslist is a good place to look, because most ads have photos.The landlord is not allowed to tell you what and who is in the neighborhood.

I can only assume that maybe the previous owners got busted for drugs or something.

I tried to do this with one property (not a completely valid test, I know) and the answer the agent gave me was, "the bank wants to see it on the MLS for at least 5 days".

This is a bump and a test.

I get the impression from your post, saying "I want to offer to private investors" that you're just testing this creative financing idea.Bad idea to guarantee the return.

Sorry, that just doesn't pass the common sense test...

Tenants actually understand that there are rules to follow, but they are a lot like 3 year old kids, always testing to see what they can get away with.Once they test a couple of times and are met with a tough (but polite) response, they will usually stop testing.Your only power over the tenants is your ability to evict.

In the begining the best method of finding motivated sellers will involve testing.

., without testing your current lender.

Bryan, if you're interested in optimizing a page's copy to improve conversions, you should A/B test it using a tool like Google Website Optimizer or KissMetrics.