I'm assuming since I'm their potential client they should be trying to impress ME that it doesn't matter, but I also don't want to be caught off guard and under dressed.

Any lender I ever have shown my Net Worth sheet to finds it impressive.

Factoring this in would still give you a decent cashflow profile. 

As a brand new agent I was highly impressed by the exemplary training we received and continue to receive on a regular basis.

I was under the impression that for people in my situation dealing w/ cash offers, ppl go to hard money because it was the same. am I misunderstanding?

saying "I'm looking for houses at "x" price in "x" subdivision because I'll be able to do "xyz" is infinitley more impressive than a slack jawed "i want a rental" response or for example, if you're talking to a lender, ask if they are loan officers themselves, ask what their personal lending limits are, ask if they lend based on the asset or based on reciever of the loan Anyway when youre talking to an acomplished investor, ask about how they do business!

You only have one change to make a good first impression.  

I've only read bits and pieces and I'm under the impression foriegn investors have pushed up the higher-end market which is now on the downswing because of a new tax which has brought more foreign investors to America.James Barnhart that sounds like a wise strategy in the localized super hot markets.

I always ask the applicant if they have a Linkedin profile and ask if we can connect before hand.Just an extra verification...trust but verify.

@Karen Margrave - Super impressed with your work, but even more impressive is your dedication/motivation to finish the project after you lost your husband (so sorry about that).