I know this because we sat down and looked at her credit report in the Mint app (a soft inquiry, and yes I know it only gives data from 1 agency but I don't expect the other 2 to be vastly different).

I am in the market for a new insurance agency that insures "vacant homes" for flips.

And forget that people have feelings, and true business is really about being aware of that.I used to be part of a Real Estate agency called Synergy RE (inspired by Stephen Covey), and on our business card was a logo of two people intertwining (an artsy kind of drawing). 

Well you are in Virginia...and in Virginia an agent is required by law to have a buyer agency agreement with you before they can work with you.

If your asking these questions here, find a friend who can help so you don't get fleeced.Drawback is usually the loan is more expensive/higher rate, they may not report to credit agencies (won't improve your credit, but this can keep your documented DTI ratio lower which may be good) and if they do use a servicer, somebody (you, unless you negotiate otherwise) will pay a service fee to have your money processed every month.

The person either doesn't know how to read agency guidelines.

Even collection agencies can't go after old debt if it has been ignored too long. 

You download a report in an easy spreadsheet with owner name, address, and all property detail. step 3 - scrub your list to remove duplicate owners, government agencies, anything out of ordinarystep 4 - "mail merge" list into your ready to go offer letter to purchase.

Now if you are not being represented by anyone and locate the property yourself, typically the selling agent will have an owner agree to dual agency and the agent can represent both sides.

A year or two later I contacted a short term(30 days+) rental agency and quizzed them on what I would get out of their service.