This one needs work and would rent when finished. 

Unless everything is selling for above asking price then I would do the work and even if everything is selling above asking price I'd probably do the work and up my asking price.  

sometimes, we never hear from them again.Our goal, is for them to at least reply with a counter offer, instead of them just saying that our offer "won't work," and leaving it at that.When it comes to dealing with fellow investors, we all know that there's usually some "wiggle room" for negotiations, thus getting a counteroffer from another investor happens all the time.Homeowners aren't always willing to counter, so therein lies the challenge.So my question:How do you go about encouraging homeowners to reply with a counter-offer if they don't like your initial offer?

That's exhausting.Now the 2 Duplexes that we have gone to contract on is demanding Paper work and Paper work that should cover buying the Empire State Building and that is driving us crazy and they are still demanding more, they even want to know the ages of the children, and where every cent we are putting down comes from and On and On.  

You have to "front" the work and then get reimbursed, and that's why they want to see cash reserves.  

Make them do the leg work and like you said, make sure the new roommate fits your criteria and it should be fine.

To learn and make money in the process.I'm hoping to meet some intelligent and driven people to invest with, but I won't be starting my investing quite yet, there's still much to learn.If you have need for a person to do side jobs, leasing, maintenance, or renovations, please reach out to me, I always enjoy extra work and meeting people.I'm new to Bigger Pockets but it seems like the perfect place to help me reach my goals.Hope to talk to you guys soon!

It's pretty easy to look at potential candidates' prior work and ratings that they've received from previous employers.Another option you could do would be to set up a Google Voice account.

Oh and I usually get my list of targeted prospect free, It takes more time because its alot of foot work and chasing down I don't buy absentees AT ALL...

I have seen several active BP members here that are in the areas I work and live and look forward to networking with like minded individuals.