They may have an acceptable offer, and it hasn't actually been signed by the bank yet.

I am surprised from the short time I have been reading the daily discussions on BP by all the new prospective "investors" who want to jump right in without testing the waters around where they actually live.

As a mostly "buy and hold" investor, my thought on this deal would actually be to flip it and take the cash you make to buy a higher end rental.

I am working with a local lender-actually a guy I know from volleyball is a mortgage broker so networking pays off again.

Some wholesalers do a much better job of presenting and most importantly getting actual deals.

I mail 6-7 times per year because you never know when someone is actually ready to sell.

Can anyone help with how to actually connect with a VA?

This is what I have come up with for myself.I am going to specialize in FSBO properties, buy and hold/flip investors, facebook ads, and FB group posts for buyer leadsI created a pretty lengthy "how to sell your home" guide for FSBO properties, I plan to stay in front of other agents by actually knocking on doors, and delivering the guide to them in person, and then using that to set up a follow up appointment when I can deliver a free CMA. 

But, in researching this a bit, with the intention of wholesaling properties to build some cash, I find that there's a lot of debate over whether you can actually wholesale pre-foreclosures once the NOD has been issued, or the NOS.

Make your case, if she actually take you, and hope for the best.