Almost the same concept if you are trying to hire a contractor when you don't own the property yet......They are not inclined to take time out of their schedule to go to a property, do a walk through and prepare a SOW (Scope of Work) on a property you "might" purchase.

With a 401k balance of about $410K, I’m bored with the retirement account concept and considering cashing it out, paying the taxes and penalties to create say +/-$300K of liquidity to pump in to more investment real estate

If you are thinking of using the cash from this sale as a downpayment on the next property then they can walk you through the concept of a 1031 Exchange, which will defer the tax consequences to a later sale. 

.- We do it on our own, we front the bill for the 1st property so we have proof of concept basically.- I have to have it all written out for her to see and understand.So focusing on that last point, what info do you find is needed or great to have to start?

It is a challenging job, but something I enjoy and think will help serve me in my real estate journey.I found the concept of financial freedom randomly on Reddit back in January.

The money down, its not a payment but just a lender concept, is how much money you need to bring to the table to cover the purchase price.As far as the percentage rule, its a broad rule of thumb to see if the property will cash flow for you. 

Her client doesn't want to understand that in this market he won't  be able to win a bid with that type of loan due to the length of closing and also he doesn't understand the concept of paying out of pocket if the house doesn't appraise for the bid amount. 

Of course the same concept applies if you choose not to wholesale.

Have a competent attorney look into the concept of adverse possession, or perhaps an action in order to quiet title .Adverse possession allows you, in this case, to claim that property as belonging to you, because of the criteria that have been seemingly met over time.

A little bit about me:I live in northern Virginia, am working towards financial independence, might get married in the next 2 years, and believe that most of my wealth generation will come from something outside of real estate.My predicament:I really like the concept of house hacking and how it can reduce my monthly expenses.