The first time I meet with any new client, I ask them for a pre-approval letter or proof of funds. 

I know people in SLC near the ski resorts that do quite well.

I have not found anywhere info that it is not allowed.I am not taking a pre-payment for 12 months

Park City, Megeve, St Moritz, Aspen - if you like to ski!

I use Private Lenders and I pay them 15% APR Accrued Interest and NO payments until the property is sold.I'm finishing up the paperwork on a deal in Greensboro, NC where there are 22 unit apartment and 34 seperate duplexes and quadraplexes.

In Maricopa county you can access the records online and do a "prelim" pretty quickly and easily. title companies here that I work with will do a PR or Preliminary Report for free so you have an idea of what's going on with the title. title insurance obviously is a different matter, that comes with a price of course.

does his prospect have a pre-qual letter ?

I should qualify all of the above by stating this has never been done in my district court, apparently, so YMMV (or should I say MMMV :-/ )I need to decide if I want to try and contact the bank myself tomorrow, or contact the banks council that filed the original foreclosure actions... or pay up and have my attorney file for the reforeclosure as a pre-emptive measure. 

This fee covers our costs for helping finding and vetting properties, acquiring, managing the rehab (if necessary), connecting with a pre-vetted property manager, making sure that property manager does a great job over time, managing expenses (including taxes) and providing detailed reporting.HomeUnion does not own any of the properties that are listed on our site.

Sherriff sales would actually be at the very end of a foreclosure, not a pre- foreclosure.