.: some swear by them and some swear at them This is so true.

That old saying about "who you know" is 100% true.

According to my real estate agent, deals like the one I encountered are extremely rare and sought after, but im a bit worried its too good to be true.

Your tax professional will lament about paying $2000 in taxes one year v $200/yr over 10 years (it's the same damn number), but we're talking about two hundred grand, so this shouldn't be a hard choice. 

I'm wondering what is the best and most professional way in approach another investor to try and convince them to let me be apart of their deal/project?

It may not affect a single deal, but if you get a reputation in your area as someone who isn't reasonable, is always trying to save another $1000, then you run the risk of other professionals calling your competitors instead of you when deals come up.Being easy to deal with and understanding that the other guys need to make a buck too goes a long way.

Lessons learned: always maintain cash reserves for maintenance/repairs, fire bad contractors pronto, be friendly with renters but not friends, a decent buyer's agents do not make a good seller's agent, I must always keep my thumb on the numbers and eyes on the contractors, and as with anything else -- you get what you pay for when it comes to contractors Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

This is especially true of how the self-made among the affluent, those who built their fortunes from scratch, started.

so true in columbus neighborhoods like upper arlington our entry price for a flip is 250k. we had someone that bought a house like that and tore it down to build a $900k house. cbus is crazy!