I remember when buying a home in 2010, one of the lenders I was shopping told me that I could easily get approval if I didn't have so many write-offs, all of which were legal and legit. 

Look for beaches, amusement parks, shopping, casinos, restaurants, popular yearly events, etc.

Most legit HMLs are sensitive to the scamming and may ask something nominal - a few hundred to begin processing.

The Seller doesn't know who is managing the property and the 10% cost is legit cost in most cases.

Question: do you know of any legit wholesalers working that area? 

Your rents are going to be in alignment with the rest of the neighborhood, with the only legit way of getting a bump is to renovate and/or provide central A/C. 

So having someone deal with just about everything is what I'm looking for, and did some research on hopefully legit companies like RoofStock and HomeUnion...on paper it seems like a pretty ideal way to dip my toes in the water, but wanted to see if anyone had used them and what their experiences were. thank you. 

The best deals out there are the off market ones that you find on your own through your own marketing campaigns or from legit wholesalers.My 2 cents.

How can you tell if a Private lender is legit...so many scammers out hear, and should you pay origination fees?

There are a lot of red flags here and to me it sounds like this money is coming from illegal sources and this is an attempt to scrub it so it looks legit.