I would research on Bigger Pockets as there are some people who have shared contracts or at least can steer you in the right direction.

I know you may not be able to put them here directly, if not, send me a message.

As you may know, if you get it directly from each county each one provides it in different formats, which can be very hard to go through and make uniform.

I'd recommend going directly to navyfederal.org or penfed.org.Hope that helps, let me know if you have further questions on these tools to access equity.

I do not have direct access to the mls yet and have been relying primarily on sites such Zillow, trulia, BeenVerified, etc. any advice on telling the difference between a good comp and bad comp without using the mls?

Here is the backstoryMy wife happened to drive by and found the home directly after the sellers agent put the for sale sign in the front yard.

So long as it immediately appraises for circa $1.3M, if you pay the $900k all cash up front, you can apply for a "Delayed Financing Exception" which should get you all your cash back (ie. 70% of appraisal) straight away. https://www.fanniemae.com/content/guide/selling/b2...From the Sellers point of view, so long as your Lender is on board, they don't REALLY care if their money is from you or your bank at closing time - they just want their money guaranteed!

I mean how much of this information can be applied to the UK market?

Just like the paper is the medium for direct mail. 

I have done direct mail but I haven't seen much return and I understand it will take a few attempts but I don't money at the moment.