BiggerPockets

Michael,
This may not help because I am fortunate to live in an area with great values. We have found our properties on the MLS through a realtor.

We have bought enough properties that we actually had a bank/realtor work with us on a bulk foreclosure that we had access to prior to hitting the MLS.
That was really nice to say the least. I think that we ended up buying 6 out of the 25 or so properties.

We have purchased all of ours for rentals to this point. However, we are starting our search today for some that would be good candidates to rehab and flip.

Most of ours have been REO's; however, we have purchased a handful from worn out landlords.

Despite the fact that we have picked them up from realtors, I monitor Craigslist as a daily task to keep track of the market. I have viewed many homes from craigslist, some from wholesalers, but the value has not been worth the price. I found one seller that had 29 homes and was desperate to sell. The homes were in such poor shape that they were almost not worth picking up for free. It was obvious after going through the homes that we were better off to continue to cherry pick the REO's. It is a great buyers market right now so our philosphy is to pick the right home in the right location at the right price.

There are many investors on BP that invest out of their local area. As I stated in the beginning, we are fortunate to live in a great investment area.

Good Luck

I own properties in 3 states in both the east and the west of the country. If you are buying out of state you have to have someone you trust on the ground. If you run ads in another state you will end up chasing a lot of shadows. People love to think they can sucker an out of stater.

Make contacts with someone local (realtor, wholesaler, family, friend). I'm very careful with wholesalers. There is nothing better than a good wholesaler but to be honest with you they are hard to find. Realtors are governed by state laws and also state, local, and national associations. They also have at least a minimal commitment to the field. They have a code of conduct and you have recourse against them if they do not act in your best interest.

There is a lot of run around with screening and due diligence on any possible deal. Run your deals through your local rep and give them insentives to bring you deals.

Don't spread yourself too thin. The only way you can be confident that you have a good deal is to know the local market. You can't be much of an expert on 100 different areas. I look for good people before I look for good properties.