I may renegotiate with them to provide half of the option fee or may just take the hit and give the whole amount.

Once you show that you are for real (by closing on a deal,or by giving them offers that make sense along with POF - POF is the thing that helps your credibility), then you will be able to ask them to keep you informed of new listings (and you'll ask to gain access prior to them hitting MLS).You say you have already closed on REO before.

You ain't gonna believe the $hit that I've seen!"

Remember, the market will trough a few times, wiping people out each time it drops after a trough, when no one is interested in RE, when there is only 1 buy at the Trustee sale.... the market will have hit bottom.

Just hit it with primer as your final paint finish.

I even typed "Ryan B." in the search box at the top and got two hits, neither of which was you.

Of course, this is a way I have learned to be more efficient with a low income "D" level property.

Investors seem to be cherry picking the best as soon as they hit.

When you feel that it has hit its limit in terms of appreciation, when a better investment comes along and you 1031 into it, or what?

I get investors all the time looking for a property with just carpet and paint that want to pick it up for less than list price.The problem is that so do home buyers.They do not have to make the spread for a flip or hit certain numbers for cash flow.If the home buyer puts in carpet and paint and only picks up 5k to 10k equity with current market values they are happy.So to recap all things being equal many asset managers will take a chance on a finance buyer if it nets them much more.The asset manager might be telling the listing broker to work the finance offers to get to close and achieve a higher net.If the property needs considerable work that generally weeds out the home buyers as they can't get financing.