In my pathway as a new investor, I've met many remarkable and intelligent people who I've been lucky to learn from.What do you all think separates truly successful investors (those who become financially independent, make six figures or millions from real estate, etc.) from those who merely buy a few properties, enjoy the cash flow and sell in the long-term when they become tired of the maintenance and extra work?

The universal application of due diligence is merely the words due diligence.

The tax returns, canceled checks, etc that I mentioned are merely some of the due diligence process they may go through before actually closing the loan.Bill mentions several potential pitfalls to sending the check directly to the seller holding the mortgage.  

I am merely trying to understand if the lien is still valid before purchasing the note.  

So what they quote you tomorrow might change...and what someone quoted you today, may look better or worse than what someone quoted you yesterday, but that is merely because the market is always changing.Also in regards to fees, some lenders will quote you fees on the low side to grab your business, and the fees will rise through the process.

@Ming LimA market appraisal is only a few hundred bucks, a mere drop in the bucket given housing prices in the GTA or Kitchener/Waterloo.

Effectively you get the same benefit as a 1031 if you are merely buying new RE.

It is merely a way to set up a personal bank from which I can borrow funds for investing in something else, like real estate.

I am merely saying that "highest and best" indicates the nature of the sales process, so the Agent needs to educate a seller that asking for the highest and best offers typically should mean that the seller intends to follow that processes.   

Does anyone know if this is like a Visa or Green Card, or if this is merely an ID of the country of Guatamala?