For those who invested in the PPR fund with the idea of trying to get into the note business, it is to those I speak.

The current lease speaks to the fact that the house has oil heat and it's the tenant's responsibility to pay for it via a contract with our chosen provider.

Yes, none of those things are "natural" so to speak but it is the least of all evils.

After speaking with my Plumbing/Heating guy he mentioned these meters and I was very interested at first, but was put off by just the price of the meters (MSRP of $800ish each).

Once you have a few deals under your belt, then your track record will speak for itself.

Study appraisal techniques and valuation methods.I like to say you need a crystal ball of sorts, need to look at the history of the note, payments made, see where and why the note was created, understand the borrowers position, look at their ability to pay and find out as much as you can about the borrower, getting in their head so to speak.

The individual agents/teams within the brokerage are the ones that set out to establish a niche to work with investors.If you're looking for a broker primarily focused on working with investors, you may want to speak with commercial brokers and agents.

Ask them if you can speak to some of the borrowers they have lended to find out if they enjoyed working with them

I would like to read over them and be able to ask questions and speak with you. 

In addition to brokers, I would also suggest speaking to 1-2 regional banks/credit unions.