@Mike Hurney hmmmm...I can tell ya I'm not holding my breath for Quincy. 

The scammers that tie up properties for 30, 60 or more days with escape clauses that never had an intention of closing are a public nuisance as Bill Gulley describes them.

By the way, like Travis, I am not negatively cash-flowing, and have no intention of buying properties that cash flow negatively.

However if you are wondering about the proof of funds because they are asking how you will fund the purchase you will have to get a letter of intent or such from the hard money lender and you can mark that on the offer.

Is it more important to have someone local or someone who lives and breathes the real estate industry?

Is it smart to send out mailings to potential sellers if your intention is NOT to wholesale the property?

Selling a contract is the most commonly referred to way but, if it can be proven that you entered into a contract to purchase a property with the sole intention of selling your rights to that contract without ever having the intention of purchasing the property in the first place than you have entered into that contract in bad faith and that is illegal.  

Then in 2015, I began intentionally investing in rental properties here in the Portland, OR  though mostly on the western suburbs.Ultimately, my goal is to grow my real estate investments to allow me to get out of the rat race day to day job within the next 10-12 years. 

Their true intentions come out eventually.Be sure to read through the rules of the forums here.

It would sure stink to have them locked into the property at $1000 for another year if your intent was to raise the rent.Please note that you must give at least one month's rental period notice - so if your state requires a 30 day notice, that doesn't mean 30 calendar days, that means at least 30 days and including one rental period - typically one month.