I was in the Restaurant Management and Bar business while majoring in Finance at Cal State Hayward.

That's how broad the swath is for your idea and that means you'd have experience in finance yourself, assuming a lending route.

Hello,I am John Hutto (native, from Columbia, SC) majored in Finance and Economics, but have a passion for Real Estate Development.

Theoretically, a property could have a hard asset value of zero, or negative value as you've projected, and cash flow of infinity - say a billion dollars per month.

I am lost in finances right now.

You mentioned you know the risks of contacting them, then you asked if it was legal.I assume you aren't aware that soliciting pre foreclosure folks without a Realtor's license, a HUD certified credit counselor's license or being an attorney can take you to $100,000.00 in fines and/or 10 years in a federal slammer.

What you need to know is that the penalty for unlicensed activity in AZ includes a class 6 felony which can result in fines and imprisonment.With that said, why not just get a real estate license and have peace of mind? 

Armed with an MBA in Finance, Management & Strategy from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business, I successfully grew the company from an initial investment of $500,000 to a portfolio valued at $75 million; entirely over the course of 8 years.

As someone who has a background in finance I will simply say(as mentioned above) when mortgage rates are close to inflation rates you are paying cash, just not upfront!

That was absolutely the key in getting into finance and real estate, my grad level in finance honed skills but it becomes rather unrelated unless I get into a corporate side.