I was so upset that I let this happen that immediately I engaged in learning all types of new strategy to help me avoid this from happening in the future.  

I would lease the property out yourself and avoid property management altogether.

To be frank, I am note broker by trade. However, I have about 500 requests and mounting from buyers/investors who would like discounted properties in their city and state. However, I have 0 inventory in their location...

If I refi up to 80% I can pull out $54,000 and avoid capital gains tax.

I wanted to know what to look out for and what to try to avoid..

But they seem to be hard to avoid, especially in my area. 

The other thing I didn't agree with is that if I'm forcing my potential buyer to produce a Cashier's check, I'm making them jump through an extra/unnecessary hoop.

And finally keep talking to people who have been there and learn from their mistakes so you can avoid years of wasted opportunity. 

I am in the process of creating a website targeted to pre-foreclosures and short sales, and I would appreciate any input and shares on websites that attract good leads for this specific niche.I do have an idea of how I would like my website to look and feel, and plan to give a lot of free info, but not all of course, about avoiding foreclosure, to capture leads.Please share any good sites and input, I very much appreciate your help!

@Jonathan Twombly  I do my best to avoid most of the complications.