I have had stranger things happen.

I really wanted my first contact to be a letter (just seems 'easier' for the first lead) but I did not want to pry too much for a strangers address. 

Now I'm trying to figure out what my best option is, sell the house (hopefully within 30 days) or hire a management company and deal with renting out to strangers across the country.

He is no stranger to rehabs and has been doing flips for nearly 20 years, so where I would have panicked, he just lit a cigar, said some re-assuring words in a soothing southern drawl and got to work.

I typically charge 6% to any stranger who calls me off the internet.  

I will say that I think the houses in that neighborhood are of poor construction quality, but I buy houses built in the early seventies so I am no stranger to poor construction quality. 

Weak salespeople would rather hang on to a familiar prospect long after a deal is dead rather than pursue a stranger who might actually buy.

Glad you are safe and glad it happened to you in Wyoming where people still take care of strangers!

One of the moderators here J Scott posted: you're essentially asking a stranger to: - Devote a significant amount of time to you - Train you to potentially become their competitor I don't know too many people who would do that for a perfect stranger for nothing in return.

I rarely ask for both equity and low money down terms from a stranger.