Three years later a collection agency is hounding them as the bank sold the deficiency balance for 10 cents on the dollar and now a collection agency can and will collect.

Having said that, once your LLC is established (owns real property, pays bills) it will begin to be able to stand on it's own.Frustrating as it may be, your personal credit will be a factor in your real estate business unless you can completely avoid the need to use a bank/mainstream mortage or loan, or credit cards.

Do I need a specialized broker, or can any insurance agency handle this, does it have to be a broker in my home state or can I find better deals out of state/online?

There just isn't a lot to choose from in the mainstream resources. 

The problem I see with this is that government agencies have never been known for common sense.

Normally, they want to foreclose, and then list it with their chosen RE Agency and hope for a better deal than you will give them now.  

The real estate crowdfunding industry is still in its early stages and is a long way from achieving mainstream acceptance.Combine the small base of investors with the complexity and variability of structures, and you have a very inefficient market.  

Do I just contact local agencies and tell them i am a investor??

They don't look at the total dollars that those offers end up bringing to their agency.

Not to mention, most street level investors do not use Mortgage Servicers who actually report to the credit agencies.