What I find is that some REs don't see or observe details such as a creepy alley next to the house or a sunken garage that may lead to future flooding issues, for instance. 2.)

My observation is that cash investors or investors with substantial equity, tend to be more greedy with their sale prices.

@Dominic Courtney spot on observation. 

Again, stay low in numbers and observe.

Contrary to Phi'z observations, those brokers that I work with already understand, and have experience and knowledge on the REO side.

When you are just getting started, having a little leverage should improve your overall returns, but it also increases risk.By observation, it looks to me as most of the old timers who have lived thru a few downturns are running relatively low debt levels. 

I’m not a lawyer so nothing here should be considered anything more than my observations over more than two decades of raising money for my projects. 

By your own observation you are offing $85 cents on the dollar for what houses are selling for within 30 days.

Things are really tight in the NOLA market right now (just as I observe them). 

There was a recent thread "Do People Ever Learn (Memphis Market Observation)" that was mostly about what appeared to the OP to be poor purchase decisions in Memphis.