At some point being service members does not entitle you to special treatment.

Has anyone experienced this issue and has a solution for it?

@Aaron Klatt wholesaling has always been the "no education, no experience, no money, no problem" solution to enter real estate.

People are more likely to dig into something and estimate costs for you (to get your some data points) when you have a specific situation/project and possible solution proposed.Other advice would be to see places and get used to walking around the Menards/Lowes/Home Depots of the world to more quickly be able to reference standard stuff like lumber, finish materials, windows, etc... 

One solution I had, though, was to control what I put in there.

Add up all of the supplies you needed (Windex, paper towels, carpet cleaning solution, paint..)

The whole point of creative financing is helping sellers find a solution to a problem by creating a win-win situation for everyone involved. 

What are the possible solutions we can bring to them to help them out of whatever situation they are going through?

The house is the result of the situation, not the cause.Then you create a solution.

I'm looking at a foreclosed property owned by a reverse mortgage company called "Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc."