Hi, I am Canadian, and I am not a registered agent, but interested in seller finance, so my question is can I talk to sellers directly or I have to do this through an agent that represents me? 

@Suzette Gonzalez a company needs to be a licensed agent/broker in California to deal with short sales. 

So, real estate agents may do it part-time, but rarely do they do it well.Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Hi Cara I'm an agent and investor here in the Phoenix area. 

The agent let me know the owner passed away and the seller has no blood relationship to the previous seller and knew nothing about the property.

As an agent who works with a lot of investors, I have recently started to notice more and more that people will evaluate a property based on its current metrics, and write it off.

I guess become an Investor Friendly Agent.

Connect with local agents, meet property managers, and analyze deals carefully.Good luck!

This team consists of an Investor Focused Agent, Lender, Contractor, and PM.Read this article on the "core 4".

I’d also recommend networking with a couple local investors in your area, including a few agents and one lender.