People in 1979 were angry that prices tripled in half a decade.

This sounds like a development, so you and your team should have years of experience and a track record of success before you take other peoples money. 

I'm looking to start with the best knowledge and knowledgeable people.  

Do you guys ever take the risk of buying a foreclosure at sheriff sale with the previous owner still living in it? How do you calculate rehab cost given you can’t look inside?

I would recommend joining ULI (Urban Land Institute) They have a network of people that can provide exactly what you are looking for Remington is it just ULI dot com ?

Look for local Investor meetings, there you will people that has lot information and opinions on these matters. 

You can't actually pay it off directly because they've been securitized, and the people who invested in those securities did so because of the specific certainty of the payment schedule.What you do in a defeasance is use the proceeds of the sale or the funds from your new lender to purchase treasury bonds that are packaged to make the exact payment amounts and timings on the remaining term of the loan, and then assign those bonds to your old lender.

Just would like to start building relationships with people In the Phoenix area as well. 

So I'm good at finding people.

Also I Would like to meet people around the pittsburgh area about real estate, currently most of my properties are located in florida, (have 3 here)..Westmorland County.