Simply put:Brokering a note: Acting as an agent for either the buyer or seller, or an intermediary for both, no ownership positionWholesaling a note: Purchasing a note to resell immediately or to hold in inventory bfor future sale.

Documentation such as emails, letters, communication with advisors (attorney, accountant, real estate broker, 1031 Exchange Qualified Intermediary, etc., can help demonstrate your intent to hold for investment (or not). 

Maybe I'll just let the 1031 go and pay the tax and only lose the intermediary fee.  

Traditionally a sale of a property has to go 100% to a qualified intermediary.

Qualified Intermediaries have no government oversight which means anyone can be a QI.

These programs there are caseworkers to help the tenant and they act as an intermediary.

No, I use a third party intermediary that guarantees the requirements of the 2000 law are met.

Your qualified intermediary as guide will be key to navigating you around these obstacles.

The main reason why this technique works so well is because you are dealing straight with the seller you don't have an agent or intermediary to go through making it a hassle.Now, you could find deals that are fairly readily but those will be tougher to come by and the margins will be smaller because people see the demand and the overpricing of properties and they want to do the same.

The most common issue is that the financial institution selling the REO property will not allow the real estate Purchase and Sale Agreement ("PSA") to be assigned to anyone, including the Qualified Intermediary ("QI").