At this point I have two different contractors, my general contractor and my mold specialist who are refusing to go in and do work while the tenants are there. 

If MLS access, easy access to properties, and education is the main objective, I'd consider working with a dedicated buyer's agent who speaks your language.

Or a specialist specialized in routing? 

It includes, among other things, a comprehensive map of the Cleveland area, grading each area from A+ down to F, using a consistent, objective and transparent methodology using publicly available data rather than a broad-brush subjective approach.

If that value is below the debt, and the agent is unfamiliar with short sales, time to get rid of the agent and get a short sale specialist because going into a short sale without experience, is just suicide.Your scenario describes a transaction that just isn't going to happen, if there is any expectation that the lender is going to take a short payoff.

Without goals you're just chasing the next shiny object. 

In pt.2 I will be includingA) Exactly how we found the dealB) The Appt (Objections, how we overcame objections, exact numbers/structure of the deal)C) The closing (How we found an attorney that works with deals like this)D) the Repairs (How we kept our entire budget @$30k/How we financed it)E) How we're achieving Air BNB Success on the PropertyF) How this property set us up to buy a quad (Hopefully with $0 down) Whole lots of good stuff coming up... and after typing it all out, I could see it possibly turning into a 3 part discussion post if Pt. 2 gets too long! 

You're simply getting the best deal their product can provide.Broker's will have numerous companies and some companies, like the one I work at, have specialists who only work with investors.Best of luck!

Look for properties that fit your objectives/criteria yourself.

That said, your objection is mostly semantics.