In the field of psychology, this is considered to be the availability heuristic and/or anchoring.

A company told him he needed to replace his entire leach field and tank for the bargain price of $8000-$10,000.

I'm a Broker of 20 years and the reality is that you become a target, you are considered an expert in your field (even if you haven't sold a thing, per the law in AZ) and you are held to a higher standard. 

I am also very interested in notes investing and would love to connect with others in this field.

I'm open to meeting other investors and anyone else that's knowledgeable in the field, and even newbies like myself.

I'd say if you find an experienced partner in the field and want to start directly into a deal yourself go for it, but if you'd like to learn from others, I think passively investing and learning while looking for deals (which are hard to come across the days) also is a smart strategy. 

It sounds like I need to find a good insurance agent in that field. 

Getting that voice takes work, just as learning useful things also takes work.But if the numbers rather than the names attached to the votes matter all that much to someone, I don't think real estate is going to be a very rewarding field for that person.

More background information in case it is helpful:    I spent the first part of my career in the small business "startup" world, and I recently sold my latest company (B2B Saas field).

I too am in the IT/ Communications field by day, living in Wake Forest / Youngsville area.