ONLY do business when your starting out with reputable HML and one who is local who you can walk and in and talk to them in person.there are bigger players that are in multiple states. but NO one is in all 50.. these include.LendinghomeLendingoneLima oneVisio GensisAnchor Aloha Conventus and on and on and on.. there are plenty of legit lenders out there. 

Francescon now lives in Illinois.Early in the crisis, cash-rich investors rushed in, snapping up troubled homes on the cheap.Big, Wall Street-backed firms and small players picked up homes by the thousands at bank foreclosures for well under $100,000.

When I look at the REI landscape, I always wish that more investors, players, and vendors would try to create win, win, win situations.  

I do min of $500

Best place to look for investors are your local meetups, ask around, usually the more experienced players don't show up too often.

I would recommend Dominic Fonte as the realtor in the area that fits what you describe. 

Dominic is a good resource and I'd recommend talking to an eviction attorney.

Does a particular brokerage dominate your market?

I have a situation where I would like to open a self directed IRA and have contacted a few of the online players and am getting a mixed message, some say it's possible some say no way Jose'.  

In my opinion you'll have a higher success rate with a broker because not only do they know who the players are, they also know how to present your deal for the best response (and they know which ones to avoid, too).