I like this thread.It kind of always feels like we have to "convince" the right agents of what we are doing and our methodology.

@Prashant Bagri While it may seem like a simple concept, it's actually a very complex process that requires significant documentation as well as specific methodologies.

What do you know most about RE, farms, motels, cafes, homes, storage buildings...... play on what you know best and branch out.Being the small investor has advantages, you are quicker to meet people, quicker to spot a deal, you don't have to follow structured steps and jump through hoops like corporates do, you can be agile in the market, move to any strategy on a property that solves the problem at hand.

While there are tons of advice and methodologies for investing without any money, you'll note that the investors who aren't trying to surmount this problem have decent W2 income to support getting financing and to build up their cash. 

As many of you know, the model is you pay a significant upfront cost for mentoring, education  and the ability to invest with the LU group following its methodology (a friend analogized, "LU is investing with guard rails")  There are many other options for passive investing like BPs Brandon Turner and Grant Cardone but I'm drawn to the structured education piece that LU offers with the possibility of future syndication.  

What you need is a deal, which means you need a methodology for figuring what is a deal and what is not. 

., what “non-tangible” items would you assign a value and what methodology would you use?

The guy to ask is Ryan Robinson per this story: http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/at-the-watercooler/2014/02/how-many-people-move-to-austin-a-day-heres-the.html You should send him an email to get his source and methodology.

Feel free to send a DM and I would be glad to send you a copy of the list and Calculation Methodology that they use.

As for your methodology of contracting with investors and asking for deposit.