I appreciate any insight or advice you might have.p.s. my first home was a short sale so I know they can be a pain, but worth it with patience! 

Generally, that's why I wait until about 60 days to limit my pain and try to play the "I am being more generous then the law requires" which helps to buy a few sympathy points.

Newbie to investing and real estate  here, so sorry in advance if the answer to this is painfully obvious to experienced investors.I'm trying to educate myself on the possibility of flipping houses in the greater Boston area, an area from what I gather is generally very difficult and competitive to find a good deal in, and an area generally with very high acquisition costs (e.g., high risk, high reward). 

Painful considering it is saving you 5% when it could/should be earning it's keep at 10%+.

This way they know the pain of vacancies and other expenses.

Overall, I like how you identify their potential pain point and offer a solution along with neighborhood-specific language. 

Also create some pain.

Corrections are a B*thch - wait this is a family website, Corrects are painful.

I mean for hundreds of years we have all needed money as an incentive to work but that is truly just psychological isn't it because in reality if we just chose to cooperate with each other there is nothing that truly required money for us to get it done. 

Sure the sale failed, that's a pain, but $50k windfall was pretty nice, no wear and tear like collecting rent anyway.