I hired a lawyer to do my due diligence  for me since I had no clue what to do.He did a title search and had to get a bunch of certified papers signed to be cleared for the transfer of title.  

I would use the option fee that I received by assigning it to a TB & have that pay for the fees in the pre-foreclosure process & therefore the home would be out of the process once the funds pay off the delinquent payments.It would benefit the home owner in trouble by:-Making the mortgage current-Potentially saving their home-Little if no cost to them-Save their credit (somewhat)-The rent would cover mortgage paymentBenefit TB by:-No qualifying for home-Can accrue equity with each current payment -Can build creditEverything would be done at an attorney's office for signing papers & etc.

The only difference is the speed at which they do it, communication and how much each charges you to sign papers aka settlement fee, it ranges from $100-300 here.

THEN I read in the paper that she has been arrested, with her boyfriend, for distributing drugs. 

We exceeded that, but that was his minimum.So, my advice to newbies caught in analysis paralysis on deal analysis is...sit down with a blank piece of paper and figure out what your goals are.  

Your action item is to find that small bank who keeps the paper in house.

Sometimes I feel like a glorified paper pusher.  

First step is to get a copy of the loan paper work. 

(even if you initially plan to self manage) and vacancy, I just don't see it being a great deal as a buy/hold...and definitely check the HOA papers.

If you don't mind the hassle of craigslist or your local want-ad papers, you can also re-sell many tools for not too far from what they cost new, if you want to "own" them long enough to do a one-off job.