I got there early so that I didn't miss out on anything and actually made it there early enough to help the other volunteers set up a table with name tags and itineraries.

Since she is the owner, she is actually leasing it to you. 

We have the local stores actually doing our shopping for us, discounting the items and then making arrangements with our maintenance team to come and pick up the material. 

It's okay to be different.A couple examples:1) If everyone is going after Pre-Foreclosure Lists, or Probate leads, maybe you should attack Tax Delinquent Lists.2) If everyone else is contacting by direct mail, maybe you could get actually call, or knock doors.DARE TO BE DIFFERENT (you might fine that a niche acquisition strategy will serve you best).We wish you the best of success,Reach out if you have any questions,ADAM ADAMS

Stop being a retail shopper and start actually putting together deals that are worth investing in.

Get with a Contractor and a Real Estate agent that you can trust. get the contractor to bid on the rehab in order for you to understand what it takes for that property to come up to actual value, get comps from the real estate agent to understand what the property is worth, make an offer based on those numbers and move the property to an investor.

Just be straight, direct, honest.No one cares if you were driving down the street.. in fact.. actually.. they DO.

do people actually do this?

It is at a point where I need some actual experience.

We actually have plans to put together our own property management team.