How to Evaluate Houses on Realty websites?

[Eric Espindola]

Since I am a beginner in the real estate investing world. I usually do my research on realtytrac.com to look for deals on houses near my area. I want to know how do you evaluate a house when it's 

1. Bank Owned 

2. Pre-ForeClosure 

3. Seller owns house free and clear. 

I want to be able to know the right direction on how to evaluate it before I can determine whether the house will be a good investment for renting to own. Or just renting. Also, where do you get your market information (comps) and how do you determine the market value of the house that is to be rented out?

Furthermore, 

Do any of you use mortgage brokers or hard money lenders or what is your many source of funding when you find a great deal?