Snail mail will ensure your prospect will pick it up so it's a matter of being able to stand out.  

Once you have a solid lead list, I'd recommend selecting mailers that stand out from your competition.  

Hi Bill, Would you please tell me what PHA stands for?

It was one of the riskiest decisions I made in my life and I had to put my everything on the line, if I didn't perform on my first flip and didn't stand up to my work for the people that vouched for me to the lenders and investors, that would of been the end of my real estate career.

Their "record" would never stand up to anything resembling investigation2- Half the gurus are not real estate people at all; they are unsuccessful actors fronting for a seminar company.3- The basics of successful investing in real estate have not changed in one hundred years.4- Learning, understanding, and experiencing the basics of real estate finance, real estate law, and property management will provide the foundation for a successful investing career.  

Certificate of Good Standing you request from the Secretary of State.

If you are working with a broker or a seller and you feel like you are pulling teeth... a good script to use is that you need current financials upfront, so you can make an offer that you can stand behind.  

The more you read the more likely you will be able to weed out what stands true and whats theory.  

But if she is unwilling to stand up for her rights as a property owner, it may be time for someone with the fortitude to deal with "the issue," to step in and take the problem off the landlord's hands.

You will find no better spokesman with a direct line to the seller (except for maybe you talking directly with the owner on an unlisted property) than an agent who stands to double end it if they close with you.