My concern for you is that it appears that if the owner comes back, they only have to pay the bid amount + costs, not what you paid for the broker.

. $200k is a pretty good chunk of money to lose on a $1 million property unless they paid $50k or something stupid for it 40 years ago. 

Can wholesalers get paid for my referral services in a way that I don't know about?

I paid 95k once for a wholesale deal.

The house appreciated and the debt was paid down and that launched us into other investments when we finally did sell.  

And lastly--even though I could go on for hours--the residential assisted living model is the most impactful opportunity in real estate to get paid to do good in the world.

Foreclosure, pre-foreclosure, REO and MLS all have viable options.

I just got pre-approved for a property, but finding cash-flowing deals in metro Atlanta has been tough, most are barely breaking even or showing negative cash flow.

So, overall she paid over the amount that my contractor was at on price with holding costs and all, the work was not great, and we are still on the market 4 weeks later with one offer coming in lower than asking..

The seller's entitlement amount stays tied up until paid off.