Contractors will donate overages or "client changed their mind" stuff and you can get higher end materials for cheap.Looks like there is one in your area http://www.rochesterhabitat.org/ReStore.aspx. 

As a wholesaler I'm looking for motivated sellers & realtors want their client to get as close to full market value as they can.If they have a realtor, I make a note to follow up in a few months to see if the house has sold.

(I have clients right now whoe want one!)

After this incident, I didnt want to waste a day in my life in a career that i did not care for. i think the earlier you start, the better as you will start to build your book of business and clients.

I talk about this day in/out with clients, happy to chat further if you'd like, and give rental comps.  

We typically start out with clients in tears and not sure what will happen to them and end with people restarting there life with are help.  

@Steve Vaughan There is no secret sauce to finding short sale clients, just get a REALTOR license and start some local advertising.

It was a Spanish client of his, whose husband passed away, after a legal battle with her late spouse's family, she won the right to sell the home that they had lived in for years.

Some thoughts of what to do right away:See if the property is earning the market rate for rents (current owner says she does not know the market and has never checked).Find out if having the four tenants pay their rent online is an option.Track the leases (current owner has lost track of who is month-to-month, who is due for a rent increase, etc).Shop the insurance to see if they're overpaying.Since I'm new to this realm, I wondered: what else can a new commercial prop. manager do to quickly add value for their clients?

I have had a few clients want to submit offers on these properties and I have heard nothing but headache.