Putting yourself in the shoes of the seller's agent, you want your client knowing that the buyer is serious. 2) You can report back to your client on the structural condition before you make an offer and you have more power to negotiate on your client's behalf knowing the condition is poor- even if they're gutting the entire place.3) Your other buyers may like a certain property you're viewing, even if it's not right for this buyer mentioned in your post. 

You can get huge ranking power with the video and it doesn't cost much.

Hey John Trout - I ran across this video a couple of years ago that explains one of the ideas behind this technique (buying an LLC instead of the property itself):http://youtu.be/0sjLNIEsKKk (he gets into it at approx 3:00)In this case, he's talking about using this technique as more of a substitute for assigning a contract (this comes in handy when lenders get involved and refuse to cooperate with an assignment).For the scenario you're talking about (if the property is already owned) I suppose you could use this same process to save on recording/closing costs and transfer taxes (because there is no new deed being recorded).

When I first heard about this technique I thought it was crazy.

To find good deals in good neighborhoods use the same techniques just focus on better areas.

If I bid on behalf of an investor (via power of attorney for example), how much should I be asking to get paid?  

The water heaters are different, receiving water at the bottom (+ needing to be strapped) and the dryers have a special power cord because the receptacle is different.  

What creative marketing tactics or techniques have you used to attract buyers?

There is a tone after reading the HOA attorney's comments that some power above the power to collect the rent due exists and it does not.

@Terence Williams You can use this free logo maker that is easy to use and very powerful.