If you are knowledgeable enough that your offers "make sense" it will help their motivation to go down that road with you.

I'm happy about the prospect of connecting with like minded and motivated folks

As you likely understand keeping control is important while still staying on the right side of the law.To reiwalf - I actually think Jeff figured out a clean way to run his business legally and still motivating a bird dog to bring him deals.

You are focusing on marketing for your degree.How about using your marketing focus to find motivated sellers and then sell on the deals without taking out a loan?

If you lack time and have ample credit/cash then buy and hold could be fine if you outsource the property management.If you want short term deals then you can do other things.Tell us more about you and what gets you motivated to invest.John Corey

What motivated you to get your RE license in both states and how does it pay off for you?

If they are really motivated they will come around to your number.Ryan makes another point.

People who earn their living in sales or customer service develop even better skills in this area.Frankly, learning to deal with sellers who are only focused on what they need is a great way to find motivated sellers who will let you win if they get what they want.John Corey

The regulators expect the REOs to be cleared out and impose pretty hard capital requirements to motivate the banks to sell.

I am motivated by all of the realistic exchange of information I read here that seems to be lacking at a lot of other sites.