The three common business models
Fix-and-flip (buy, rehab, resell), buy-and-hold (rehab or not, rent long-term), and deal sourcing (finding off-market opportunities for other investors, sometimes for a fee). Many investors do more than one depending on the specific property.
Why local matters more than it sounds
A national cash-buyer franchise pricing houses from a spreadsheet doesn't know that a specific Chatham-Kent neighbourhood's older housing tends to have aluminum wiring, or that a rural well-and-septic property needs a different inspection than a town house. That knowledge is what a genuinely local investor brings to a number.
How to tell the difference from a seller's side
Ask directly: do you work this area yourself, or license out a lead to whoever's closest? Have you actually walked houses like mine? A straight answer to both tells you more than any marketing claim.