Here's my experience. If you don't have a lot time and not into construction and not a lot of money, don't bother going into foreclosure, flipping, or short term project. People going to court house auction bring in a million dollar cash to bid on foreclosures. They can keep bidding a house up until you run out of your reserve. It's very difficult to outbid them and still make a profitable flip.
For casual investor, the best approach is just buy and hold from the regular market, utilizing long term leverage to gain the profit. You want to buy into a trend and RE has very long trend. A rising tide lifts all boats. Doesn't matter which house you buy. It will go up in price in a uptrend. Also established neighborhood is easier to predict up and down. The whole neighborhood will go up in union. New development might turn out good or might turn out bad, depending on the people moving in.
For RMLS, the regular listings have a lot of information. The regular websites like Trulia or Ziprealty are good. Insider knowledge will not give much advantage because RE is a heavily regulated industry and once a house is listed, the agent has a duty to get the best price.
For casual investor, the best approach is just buy and hold from the regular market, utilizing long term leverage to gain the profit. You want to buy into a trend and RE has very long trend. A rising tide lifts all boats. Doesn't matter which house you buy. It will go up in price in a uptrend. Also established neighborhood is easier to predict up and down. The whole neighborhood will go up in union. New development might turn out good or might turn out bad, depending on the people moving in.
For RMLS, the regular listings have a lot of information. The regular websites like Trulia or Ziprealty are good. Insider knowledge will not give much advantage because RE is a heavily regulated industry and once a house is listed, the agent has a duty to get the best price.