But I was trained to go through a Socratic dialogue with the homes to figure out what all the seller's choices were. 

Having some good dialogue and definitely forging some relationships.  

There are lenders that post daily in marketplace yet won't continue dialogue with you on great deals when they find out you have a brain and won't allow yourself to be screwed by them.

After much dialogue via e mail I saw she had another one for sale on her website and a price was agreed for them both.I said I needed a contractor to take a look at the place.

Good dialogue.

Okay Steve, I will tell you my answer to mitigate acrimony but I choose to withhold specific details and documentation until later because the purpose of this dialogue is to invite open discussion for creativity regarding a common scenario.

The downside is that those posts would often be out of sequence - and quite possibly,  context - within the flow of dialogue in the thread.

I will continue my lurking and make a concerted effort to participate in the dialogue as much as possible.

Dialogue and networking can lead to some really solid outlets when things get crazy in the world of land lording.  

I am looking forward to starting a dialogue with many of you!