Can we hear from individuals who have experienced sustained success buying section 8 rentals while relying on entirely 3rd party service providers? 

Check out Meetup.com or local Facebook groups to find like-minded individuals, you never know who you'll meet, or who they'll connect you to!

I’m always eager to expand my knowledge and network with like-minded individuals.

My friend recently told me of this scenario where the person I lease to would perhaps then double book individuals and keep deposits. 

I can't comment on the Indianapolis market but I am always weary of individuals jumping into flipping houses as their first exposure to real estate.

They're a conduit lender, so they require more documentation than a mortgage fund or private individual would request. 

But you would have to calculate the individual debt services to see if the debt is cheaper or more expensive.

Alternatively they can purchase a portfolio of occupied homes at a discounted price because the seller of the portfolio in most instances first tried their hand at selling the homes individually to the owner occupant and after experiencing 13-15% in disposition fees and expenses realized its not worth the effort and better to package the assets and sell discounted to another investor.Keep in mind, most of these SFH's are in stagnant markets meaning limited appreciation and if you ever took the time to look at an amortization schedule  there's no meaningful principal paydown for many years.

That will be up to the facts of your individual case.

Often times these approved vendors are more expensive than the individual you can contract with on your own because they know they are the only show in town.3.