Don't have the answer to your query but in their shoes, i'd do likewise: why would they negotiate with someone they have zero leverage on?

@Kelly McCandless I was in your shoes about 7 years ago and was fixated on buying my first property in Seattle.

Put yourself in the shoes of someone who wants to get into real estate investing, to answer your first question.

Heck half the time their zestimate is more wrong than 2 left shoes.

lol. ive moved on it just sucks when a property im really interested in is tied to a unresponsive agent, oh well!

- Other than the SHORT TERM tying up of the money, what are the disadvantages of this route?

IMO, you may have cut the plumber tie too quickly.

I refinanced my personal residence from a 15 year to a 30 year to invest the tied up equity. 

The Last thing someone facing foreclosure needs is someone who can’t actually buy tying up their property for a month or so, Hoping to flip it to an unknown buyer.....when you fail, they now have no time to sell it to a real buyer before foreclosure.

@Ryan Ingram Do the properties you own in your LLC, also have the mortgages tied to your LLC as well, and not to your personal name?