They are scam artists.

The wholesaler doesn't want to give out information unless you demonstrate that you're legit.Technically sending out personal information and advertising a large bank account to someone through craigslist also make you a target of a scam, too so tread lightly.In order to get a proof of funds letter, your best bet is probably working with the bank that holds the money (or line of credit) you plan to use to invest.Also, consider a different approach in looking to meet the wholesaler for coffee in order to discuss more about their business and your criteria.

We were disappointed we could only find three that didn't look like scams, but I'm guessing that's mostly because we are new to turnkey real estate investing and that there are probably quite a few additional quality turnkey companies out there. 

The whole scheme is a scam.

I do though, love how we so quickly, just rape these people of any chance of spamming/scamming us.

Although some of this data is certainly available in the public record, in many cases it's not all that simple to gather that data from the public record.And then of course, when there are "feuds", the parties involved might try to pull something like what Mitch posted here:http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/60121-another-grant-deed-scam-If someone wants to volunteer that info, great - but I'll abstain from that.

Some people dont even reply to an ad without an address because they think its a scam.

My question is, how do determine if a home is a scam on Craigslist without having title work done?  

I'd like to start cutting my portfolio slightly by the time I'm 33 (5 years) and slowly increase the amount of time I'm able to devote to investing.

In my first year, I made an expensive mistake in getting locked into a legit-sounding advertising contract that was a complete scam.