I learned a lot also just from spending time in the office (my class was held in a brokerage) and chatting with agents about things.

When I'm not talking about home improvement or landlording, I'm usually just kidding around here in the forums.My advice to you is to spend lots of time reading these forums and figuring out who knows what they're talking about and who doesn't, and when.

There are services that you can use that you have to pay for, or you can spend 5-10 minutes on Google for each owner. 

More than anything, I'm looking for someone who might be willing to spend a little bit of time talking with me about my specific project in detail. 

As @Phil Z. stated, Every REO contract gives them the right to cancel for any or no reason.....they don’t need your agreement  If you want to spend the time researching you can usually figure out the problem, especially since you already have a clue.

I don’t have much to offer but I’m willing to assist in any way possible so I’m not just mooching.

Any references/assistance is appreciated.  

We don't spend more than a couple hours managing our 8 properties, and I never go to see them.

I have literally zero money to spend or put down, like zero.

The other problem is that you probably cannot increase the rents very much in the future without spending a lot of money on rehab, which still may not get you over $600 per unit on a good day.