It seems the biggest hurdle in this particular strategy is the daunting task of "scrubbing, or scraping" the lists.

They must have a full time team scrubbing all the negative comments.

Do programmers create a script to scrub the data, but then where do they get the data?

What type of property would be best:I'd say start small only because you are still young, so perhaps intern with a really awesome wholesaler in your area or find one that is exceptional somewhere in the country and be their virtual assistant (scrubbing their lists or doing online marketing for them] What banks would be best to get a loan from should I need one:I won't worry about the banks just yet, focus on building your foundations and in the process, you'll get a good lender while on the journey to successBusiness and real estate books/ebooks I should read:MUST buy a hard copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad & buy the CashFlow board game [find a friend of yours who likes a challenge and play the CashFlow game with them-they might be a potential partner in your business in the nearest future] Pitfalls/rookie mistakes beginners make:Make a ton of mistakes!

If you are trying to wholesale it’s fine to scrub the MLS but don’t let that be your only lead gen.If you want to buy, still get the POF but make sure you do have funds, holding is not cheap even though someone else is paying down the mortgage.

There are ways to scrub the MLS, you should definitely look at school districts first or wherever in your area there is a blend of employers and there has been growth in population and real estate cash sales.BUTThen you should just be an agentBECAUSE As a wholesaler I find off market deals and I am singularly focused on providing value to those who, for whatever reason, won’t deal with problem properties themselves.

Whatever you end up doing scrub those numbers yourself, and take nothing for granted lots of ways to end up sideways.

I think if you have "boots on the ground" in place in NY and/or don't mind making the trip then you should take advantage of your knowledge of the local market.I am not sure where you are getting your list of apartment owners from, but I typically use a cheap postcard on my first mailer to "scrub the list". 

Is there an app or service that I can plug the list into that will scrub the names?

You gotta take the risk to make things happen otherwise you will never find the deal.I usually get the deals by scrubbing MLS and wholesale deals come to my email all the time.