Be clear you live next door up front - don't waste your and their time if this isn't something their interested in. 

There may be a reason you don't see other rentals in the area.If you're pretty sure you want to refi in one year, then take the max interest rate up front so your closing costs are minimized.

Trying to exit the deals and minimize tax impact without investing into more real estate deals at this moment in time..

This is what makes this very tough for a homeowner to buy something to live in. as they get lazer focused and it never goes to sale. they waste time and energy chasing it.And if its LA if there is any equity at all you will have massive competition..For due diligence simply order a preliminary title report for a few hundred and that will tell you the story.. some auction sites will publish the TSG  but not all.good luck

They have large asset bases and larger networks, which minimizes their risk if it doesn't pay off.Personally, I am not a speculator.

If you cannot walk into your local bank and credit union and based on your relationship with the bank IE large deposits and I am talking in the multi hundreds of thousands.. or very large incomes I am talking in the multi hundreds of thousands.. and or very long experience level I am talking decades there is NO money at those rates. what there is   is money at 9 to 15% or higher.. once you grasped that concept and folks stop wasting time.. then you just plug those numbers into your deals.Now if your talking about yoru 4 mortgage slots for rentals  that's a whole nother story but if your looking for fix and flip type funding  etc etc.. the niche is the HML in the country and there are a lot of themget a copy of the Scottsman guide there are list there of reputable national HML.

If you find good deals, the income should be able to easily cover the debt service and expenses making the relative risk of owning that debt minimal. 

Should I approach owners who will at the last minute pay their liens and penalties (possibly those with liens younger than 2 years) or avoid this potential waste on direct mail costs?

What steps can I take to ensure I'm not wasting my time and there aren't multiple liens on the property?  

A Buyer of those loans must meet specific criteria including having a minimal amount of funds of $5.0 Million or $10.0 Million.