The mother says I can come over that day and look at it, so I do and to my surprise it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

I'm surprised no one responded to this. 

I am surprised no one mentioned Realquest.com.

If surprises crop up, they can be negotiated at that time, but only true surprises that were not discoverable on the front end and are not part of the detailed scope of work.

Craigslist , with the new mapping feature is surprisingly useful You get a lot of ads w/ pictures, so you can tell the shacks from the castles and figure out where your property stands.

A lot of people at our office are pretty surprised how many new apartments are being built.

or when it's convenient because you're doing other rehab anyway?

Of course I am fluent in the language, which surprised them because they assumed that a Black guy wouldn't be able to speak to them.

To be on the conservative side of things, I would personally suggest planning on a 70% LTV ratio, the way BiggerPockets guide suggests it - there are almost always some unexpected surprises along the way (big or small), and it's better to have a little bit of that extra cushion for when they arise. 

You will be surprised that if you can find a good deal, you need very little money to get started in real estate.