The insurance company paid them directly so it was hands off for me.

To successfully perform a flip the house flipping company needs to Spend time & money marketing to distressed sellers to source a deal with a large profit potentialEstimate the ARV of the dealEstimate the repair costs of the dealDetermine if there is enough profit in the deal to make sense for a flipNegotiate a sales price with the owner of the propertyHire the General ContractorManage the renovationEnsure the renovation is completed on time & on budgetMarket & sell the property for the estimated ARV to ensure they hit the estimated profit marginAfter successfully doing all of that why would they then hand over the majority of the profits to you?

I'm using a hand writing font for my letters and mailing them to people who will be going into foreclosure and who have a judgement against them.

It also may force the hand of the seller to go through with the closing.

Just don't put your well being in their hands.

Meeting someone face to face, seeing the market, touring some props, and getting a first-hand idea of the operation is extremely helpful.

Take that hand you have pointed at the appraisers, and note that 3 of those fingers - one per duplex - are pointed right back at you.Good luck.

Secondly, I can tell you from first-hand experience that investing in single-family rentals  is a wonderful wealth builder and cash flow provider the key is to making sure that you have enough money to cover  any vacancy lods in between tenants. 

Auctions on the other hand can be higher risk but the speed and certainty are nice. 

However, one partner is hands on, lives in the area, and will be doing all the ground work; to include securing the financing, finding the deal, and self managing the property and everything that comes with that.