So, any sort of refinance is a cash out refi.

Get out there, hustle, find real deals and the rest should sort itself out.

How do I screen a general list of names and addresses of homeowners in a city zip code to find the ones that have been published on Lis Pendens list? Do I have to be a paid member of some website, go check county pub...

It's simple really if they don't get paid until funded at closing and you pay the appraiser directly for upfront fees keeping the so called lender from PADDING anything then they most likely are real.If they ask for money upfront they can call it whatever fee they want.They keep changing names so people do not think it is a scam and then never fund the deal.Really think about this if a lender gets a bunch of money upfront they have low motivation to close your deal.It's like mailing someone a 1,000 that is 100 miles away from a building and saying drive here and paint this unit today.Versus having a 1,000 but not paying a dime until the work is completed.For every real lender I see about 8 out of 10 that are scammers and are just churning due diligence fees.This is rampant in commercial real estate.First question I ask a lender who calls is do you have to put up ANY money before closing other than direct payment to the appraiser??

He often framed as a nutcase by mainstream media, sort of like Ron Paul and Jim Rogers.

I'd like to think it's as easy as just avoiding the situation, but it seems like 1/2 the houses I've looked at in my area have some sort of conversion and some of them would cash flow nicely.

It's probably REO, so the electricity is usually off (unless there is very good reason - I went through one that had a sump pump running continuously even though the weather was and had been dry; I suspected a spring of some sort was pumping water into the basement).

The bank is now motivated to unload the property.

Again, if this property was rehabbed, this sort of thing should have been fixed.

I invest in real estate that has been on the market a long time or more is owed than the current value so I am dealing with sellers who are more motivated to sell so I only pay $10.00 option fee. in order to avoid a large option fee to a seller it important to take the right approach, have the right presentation and it has to benefit the seller enough for it to have value to them.