Unless the Realtor you are working with is experienced in buying or making offers on investment property, you will probably have to give them some "specialty training."

You will have to share your purchase parameters with your broker, i.e. price, neighborhood, seller motivation, seller financing, etc.

Then review keywords to help the broker use the multi-list search engine to find properties with motivated sellers. Here are some keywords to share with your broker

TARO- It will appear just like that.

         It stands for Take Any Reasonable Offer (TARO).

HANDYMAN SPECIAL-This usually translates into: "this house is a serious mess."

SUBJECT TO PROBATE COURT APPROVAL- This means that the property is being liquidated to settle an estate. There are attorneys trying to sell the house so they can get paid. You figure it out. Note: probated estates almost always require a cash or new mortgage sale.

NEEDS TLC- Speaks for itself.

SUBJECT TO OBTAINING TITLE THROUGH DIVORCE DECREE-

Usually strong motivation. (Divorce attorneys may have liens for legal services).

VACANT- That means someone is making payments on the house that is sitting empty.  There may be additional motivation.

Anything similar to the above are signs that it may be worth investigating the property further.

Some other important signs to look for in a listing of a property for sale is the length of time a property has been for sale. Properties that have been on the market for an extended period of time usually have some reason that can be a sign of motivation. Who the listing agent is can also tell you about the property. Certain Realtors specialize in listing certain properties. For instance, the Realtor in your area that handles repossessed (repo) properties for a certain bank or mortgage company is someone whose name you want to look for on listings. If they are the listing agent on a property, it's possible that property is a repo.

This is part of a book I wrote and  a taste of one real estate investing guide DVDs done by me. I will be republishing the majority of my book on my active rain blog. If you are interest in DVD or Seminar I have done on Real Estate Investing you can go to http://stores.ebay.com/Real-Estate-Investing-Guide