Most investors don't like to show their hand, and while we all like to point fingers,  I am sure there are some things that you are doing that the realtor doesn't like either.

I'm crossing my fingers that it's high so I can go ahead and refinance soon.

See 'Five Finger Discount' by Helene Stapinski.I would NEVER recommend this...but many do even GUT renos without permits (read: most.)  

I am now in the process of the cash out refi process and ready to go after the next one.Unfortunately, I used up a lot of my funds on the first and don't have enough to cover another cash purchase in the area I buy.I market like a wholesaler but I intend to keep the properties I am aiming for myself due to the knowledge I am gaining in this particular area I focus on.So to keep my itchy finger at bay, I have started to study other areas surrounding me to start some true wholesale marketing to sell to other investors.I read and study all I can but it is no where close to adventure of dealing with a physical property.

I did not read all the other posts so fingers crossed I'm not duplicating: With taxes, one or two little wrong moves can mean a difference of thousands of dollars.

Fingers crossed some of you know know how to gain access to the contact info for the personal representatives of the estates!!

My fingers make mistakes at times - sorry.Chrles

Keep your fingers crossed that they haven't accepted another offer already.

But as it has been mentioned in some of the other posts also, that it is not always feasible to approach these professionals for every property that you are trying to analyze, so my question here is how do you evaluate it at the beginning of the deal so you don't find yourself crossing your fingers at the time of appraisal while selling your property! 

The mls is controlled by NAR so you need to be a paid member of association and be able to have lockboxes after you have been finger printed and have steep realtor insurance.