There's a lot of competition in this space, you'll need to be as ready to move as you can be when the right opportunity comes up. 

Get started at more than one institution and let them know it is competitive.

Well I'm also curious as to how competitive these rates are.

This location is in a large Metro area with a lot of competition.

But in case they don't read it the prescreening script should be part of your initial phone conversation prior to scheduling showings.If you have a hot property you can also schedule multiple people at the same time slots, creates a bit of a competition between them.

Their importance, especially in uber competitive markets?

Within a few hours of the listing being active it will have multiple offers and usually ends up selling for about 30k over market value with how competitive it is.

Thanks for the input @Steve Morris - What are your thoughts about the 4% non-competitive tax credit?

I've learned a ton about my market this way and generally there's a lot less competition because these deals are not so easy to locate for a lot of wholesalers.  

Trust me, as a guy who currently lives near the beach in San Diego, buying costal properties right now is especially competitive with rates and inventory so low.