However as you get closer together they will eventually reveal their actual MAP.Do not be afraid to submit lots of low-ball offers to find where their true MAP is.  

This can be quite revealing ...

It also can reveal a more about the buyer and his/her capacity to close.Usually the offer contingent upon a satisfactory roof inspection and report.

Additionally, a title search ($100 or so) will reveal the liens on the property.

About 6 years ago I made the decision to move outside of the United States. I researched and visited a lot of different countries before I picked Panama. Once I found my tropical mountain paradise, many friend...

An up front conversation should have revealed exactly what was going to happen.In the interest of full disclosure, I've both borrowed and lent hard money and have money invested now with a hard money broker making these loans.If anything unethical happened in this example, it was the lack of up front clarity.I found out after I had the deal in place that I needed to pay for the appraisal, inspection, and survey for the HML,This is true of any mortgage loan, not just hard money.

As for recommended books, the questions has been asked hundreds of times and a quick search of the forums will reveal a lot of threads with great book lists.

A search will reveal many similar threads like this one, although the numbers may change.

I'm a licensed realtor, think I know how to use MLS, and buyer names are not revealed in sales data, not here anyway.

Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the "ding-dong" wire is actually broken on my doorbell, and a previous owner had covered up the "dong" defect by re-routing the "ding-dong" wire to the "ding" terminal on the doorbell, thus leaving me with a "ding", but no "dong".