It sounds like your relationship is based on mistrust or poor communication, or both. 

I just wish you were a touch less confrontational about things you're actively asking to learn something about.And your whole positivity all-the-time kick...it reminds me of propaganda shots of the Hitler Youth and the Soviet Union's Young Pioneers, all those teenagers in line with wide fixed smiles enthusiatically doing calisthenics in the broiling sun, not a hint of the death camps or the gulags about them as they focused on an ever-more-brilliant future to come, the Thousand Year Reich and the Worker's Paradise.In this country, I have learned to deeply mistrust permanently positive people who melt into puddles and wail at the first sign of real hardship.

That kind of thing creates drama and mistrust.  

I regard governments with deep suspicion and mistrust - an attitude that was fairly prevalent when the founding fathers were doing their stuff.

This is an ancient thread, but I'm seeing the exact opposite.Last market sale date 1901-1997 ~98KLast market recording date 1901-1997 ~27KIt makes me mistrust the data in general.

(See www.biggerpockets.com/show75 specifically) and there seems to be a mistrust or no interest in the buy and hold strategy with condominiums.

It's hard to lose faith in something that is inherently built on mistrust.

New Guru's pop-up teaching crazy things based on mistrust and legitimate buyers like yourself see no reason to build a relationship let alone pull the trigger with the wholesaler.You are making a good decision to deal directly with owners or, as David noted, deal mostly on REO's with banks.

, so trying to achieve such a high-level of automation and efficiency isn't really necessary at this point.Seeing it from their perspective-- perhaps it's just the mistrust of filling out the application online.

You should, of course, be wise and wary in your dealings with contractors but don't be so taken with fear, mistrust and suspicion that you poison the relationship.