Newbie in Lansing, MI looking for help on next steps.

[James Dean-Howell]

This is going to be a really long list of questions so I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to help me in any capacity! 

Alright so after mailing a few letters, about 50, I've started getting calls from local home owners who have off-market property. 

I'm talking to one homeowner now who actually has 2 separate properties he wants to sell, not just the one I mailed him about. He told me he has an additional off-market property he is looking to sell. Both are now vacant but they were being rented out. He told me they both need repairs. So here are the issues I'm running into.

1. The doors were locked. He gave me permission to visit the homes yet when I got there the doors were locked, so I was only able to take pictures of the outside of the home. 

This brings up a problem I've been having about trying to estimate rehab costs and give an offer. I am currently trying to operate in two capacities. I want to buy a rental/house hacking house for myself. Which would be either a multi-family unit or a SRF with 2 bathrooms and at least 3 bedrooms. I'll live in a room and rent out the other rooms to room mates. There is a University near us. The other capacity is my attempt at part-time wholesaling. A professional REI I know told me to start wholesaling just to get into the field of real estate investing. And to start TODAY. This was about a month ago. So I did.

After reading a book on wholesaling it said the first in-person meeting should be with the goal of getting them to sign the contract. Which means I need an offer. How can I offer on a property I can't get into to see before we meet? Should I ask them to unlock the door? Should they meet me there for my initial walk through? 

Also, regardless of wholesaling, even as an investor looking to buy my own houses, a few of the homeowners that called me seemed to want me to give them an offer right away. How? How can I make an offer without getting inside the house? Should I have some kind of ballpark estimate offer before I meet them in person? If so how do I calculate this ballpark estimate. I recently re-read the "Ultimate guide on Estimating Rehab costs" and while it was really helpful and something I'll use when I start getting into the nitty gritty, it didn't really tell me about how to offer on a house I haven't actually got into. 

2. I can't visit properties during the day on weekdays because I work a fulltime job from 9am to 6pm. By the time I get to a property it's pitch black. Especially here in Michigan during the winter. How can I take decent pictures with such poor lighting? My phone isn't cutting it. The flash isn't helping. The pictures are just not very visible. Do I need a professional camera? Do I need to get a flashlight to illuminate the areas I'm taking a picture of? Should I not be walking properties at night? Surely even during the day some parts of the house are going to be poorly lit. Like a room with no windows when there is no electricity. How do I get good pictures of super dark areas? 

3. Since these are off market properties which means I'm not going through a realtor, at least from the beginning, that's leaving me with a ton of problems.  I've been having a hard time finding a realtor. Specifically because all of 3 I've talked to, including the ones at my local Investment Club Meeting, want me to sign an exclusivity agreement. And I've heard from a good number of investors that exclusivity agreements are horrible for investors. Is there another way for me to work with agents to leverage their knowledge, experience and time?  Heck, I don't even have a copy of a good wholesaling/assignment contract for my area. Which leads to my next question. 

4. Where do I get good, up to date copies of assignment/double close contracts for my area. According to the book I read when I first meet the seller in person my goal should be getting them under contract. What contract should I use for my area? Where can I find a good one? I am definitely willing to buy one from someone. Also are those the same contracts I'd use for if I weren't wholesaling and just buying for myself with financing? If not what contracts do I need and where can I get a good, legally sound copy for my area? If I start calling title companies will they provide these contracts for me or do they expect me to have them already? 

5. Also I need to find a good title company to help me close on deals and to hold my earnest money in escrow. Outside of those functions I actually don't know in detail how a title company functions for a real estate investor. How do I screen for good ones? What benefit will they provide me? Will they expect me to know certain things before I call them or will they tell me what they do. 

I called one title company and asked simply whether or not they do "double closing." They said they didn't. But during the call I realized...I barely even understand what a title company is. Outside of the general "helps with closing" and "holds funds in escrow," I don't really know how to best work with a title company. So...need help on that as well. 

6. Is there a way I can entice Agents to work with me without an exclusivity agreement? Maybe I can offer them a part of the deal  on what ever off-market property they help me close? Would that work? Any other ideas? 

Ok that's all I can think of right now. I have to point out that none of the books and articles I've read nor the podcasts I've listened to have talked about these things in detail. The poor lighting. Doors being locked. Maybe they mentioned getting a ballpark estimate for an offer but I can't remember anyone going in detail about it. So I appreciate all the help I can get on this! Thanks for your time! When people tell you to JUST GET STARTED TODAY, I understand why they say that but I feel SOOO unprepared. Still...I am making progress and know more today than I did yesterday so this is good. Thanks again for all your help in advance.