If I got with the rental property, what thoughts do you have about how to determine if a neighborhood is going to rise or sink over time, and how to safeguard my investment?

They were very skeptical since they have never heard of wholesaling and asked me questions about who I'm working with, am I licensed, and yada, yada...After running into that, I thought I would safeguard myself by starting my own buisness, Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC.

But as I understand it, you are required to safeguard the property, even during the redemption period. 

The next targetAs the IRS and the others ramp up their safeguards, identity thieves are now targeting tax professionals, human resource departments and payroll officers to get more data – such as copies of W-2 forms – to put together more authentic-looking tax returns that will slip through the defenses.The group is working to alert those professionals as well as continuing to warn taxpayers as well.

This would be obviously more profitable on all deals but also help safe guard and bad rentals or flips.

What the IRS does stipulate that all activities of the plan must be for the exclusive benefit of the plan beneficiaries.The IRS recommends the following criteria to determine if a plan’s policies are for the exclusive benefit of the plan participants: The cost of an investment must not exceed its fair market value (FMV) at the time of its purchase.A fair return commensurate with the prevailing rate must be provided.The investment must be sufficiently liquid to permit distributions per the plan terms.The safeguards and diversity that a prudent investor would adhere to must be present.So put that in perspective relative to the lending arrangement you are considering.

While you may have read a lot or practiced the mechanics of making a deal, nothing is a substitute for actually going through the process and you need to safeguard yourself from as many mistakes as possible.   

I'd like to hear some thoughts on how to not only ensure that I will get paid for my work but how to safeguard the seller and buyer so that everyone wins?

I know some people split their lending between 2 or more banks... probably to safe guard this situation.

So somehow this is meant to safeguard the indigent owner.There was an offer of $115 k vs a sales price of $119k  so now I am in position to "Upset" the offer if I choose.