As far as anonymity goes, that can make it worth it for very private individuals, but I imagine their connection to the property will come out during discovery anyway, if there is ever a suit.

The best way to build a pipeline of good off market acquisitions is to be active & perform on contracts you execute without re-trading on terms (unless there's a valid diligence discovery).

i think having 'discovery calls' with multiple brokers/lenders is always a good idea. see what loan products they can offer you, what their rates are like (but note that many tell you one thing & ultimately have to close you at another), and most importantly make sure you have a good gut feeling about them. make sure they're responsive and want to educate you & don't try to win your business by sh*tting on other lenders. it weirds me out that the person you talked to had said what they said. to my knowledge, rate shopping & getting your credit pulled for it multiple x in one 30-day span is just fine. all those hard inquiries fall off anyway. it's worth it to get a great loan product and a great rate. and they're wrong - not all lenders have the same products to offer!

Leading discovery meetings has taught me how to be genuinely curious, ask the right questions, and qualify through disqualification.

I have set up multiple discovery calls set up with some real estate focused CPA's to get some more guidance.

If I were to redact the first sentence of your post, most readers would assume you are preparing for litigation with a healthy amount of discovery.

I am currently in the discovery phase to prepare myself for our first deal.

In the discovery process we found that most of the things they said were lies and they even misrepresented their experience credentials in the note world.

Not a closed deal, just the simplest "Please tell me more".Driving for Dollars is a low return also due to even finding a prospect, they may not be home at the time of your discovery and then need to return or call (if the phone number is available).I don't like wholesaling for other reasons, but pouring this much time, effort and money would discourage me too. 

Hello Jeff,Thanks, I am excited about my discovery of BiggerPockets.