Copper coated lead is my metal of choice.

The movers handle the contact with the authorities.

Acquiring real estate this way is a numbers game, but if you can get thousands (or even tens of thousands) of marketing pieces to potentially motivated sellers, you'll get some great leads that turn into big bucks;2.

I disagree about the charging the upfront fee makes a serious buyer.I can't tell you how many scammers I have seen in the commercial lending arena.I can say one problem lenders face is they get a package submitted to them and then give an LOI.Then in due diligence the buyer finds out the income levels and returns were not as stated.Now the lender wants a bigger payment down from the buyer or the buyer has to get the seller to reduce to the actual proven numbers.The deal falls out and the lender made nothing.The way to solve this is submit a detailed and verified package upfront.This way you know the numbers you are sending have been verified.Lenders site confidentiality etc. when doing loans so you can't verify other properties they have closed.If lenders state money has to be in escrow or a deposit have YOUR attorney hold in an account the lender does not have access to or authorization to.This way the money can be shown to be there and earmarked for the purposes of the loan.I am telling you these scammers will do anything to separate you from your money.I know some deals I wasn't involved in where the people chased the lender for 6 months to get back 500k.Do not let lenders PUFF fees.If they say they have to pay for appraisal then tell them you will pay the appraiser directly.If you are a legit lender and you make money when you close a loan you should have no problem with this.If however you are a fee generator mill and you hardly close anything or a point taker with upfront fees I can't tell clients to work with you.Some point takers take money to submit apps knowing the lender will not close or that it's a sham.They usually charge a small amount upfront to entice the victim.Usually 500 to a few thousand.

It could simply be that one of the short sale buyers had enough lead time to get the money together.On the other hand, it's annoying to think that someone gets to the front of the line by being dishonest, and every body involved looks the other way.

I am in the process of meeting my very motivated seller this week and I would like to know if I will need a letter of authorization in this potential deal, which contracts to use if my buyer will be taking over the exsiting payments, and how should I price my assignment fee.

And they're somewhat state specific because of certain statutes, such as CO detector requirements, lead paint disclosures, maximum time security deposit can be held, etc.

You’ll need to find the heirs, or at least someone who has the capacity, power and authority to transfer title to you.

What would you suggest I look for in a lead that would work?

This might lead to a deal, you never know.