Like if you find an off market deal from someone who knows you and trusts you.

Don't trust any Zillow application. 

If you have an LLC or the property is owned in a land trust the judge might decide you need an attorney.

What we’ve learned doing lots of off-market negotiation is we get the best results when we have great, empathetic, trust building conversations that gets to the heart of what exactly the seller wants in the transaction besides price.

When you say professional quote do you recommend just paying a trusted contractor to do a walkthrough or do you first recommend getting an inspection to figure out what’s fully wrong/needs to get fixed before bringing in a contractor?

In every state the public is welcome to bid at sherrif sales or in Deed of Trust states Trustee auctions.

I never trust a Zillow application. 

Lesson learned to never trust anyone on social media.

This would obviously require you partnering with an investor that you trust. 

So, if you are shopping around, trust your numbers and don’t be aggressive on price, you may be only bidding against yourself.