average borrower who is in foreclosures like you describe will get no less than 100 to 200 direct mail pieces from investors  wholeslaers  real estate agents  mortgage brokers.. and foreclosure rescue fraudsters. this is in a active or bigger MSA .. if your in some little town out in rural America there will be a lot less competition.So what happens in the real world is the homeowner is overwhelmed with solicitations.. everything from the sappy  Hey I was once broke too or I lost my house too so I know what your going throughetc etc.WE found the only way to really do this was to knock the door and make a reporte' and usually within a few days of the sale.. have the cash on hand to rescue the deal  a few days before and be able to prepare our own deeds get them notarized and recorded.. this is how you get the very best deals.

If investors (whether they themselves are licensed or not) are able to buy a property quickly, easily, and cheaper (than the MLS price) through us, rather than communicating with multiple parties on submitting offers and waiting on those offers to be reviewed/accepted then potentially renegotiating and starting the process all over again, then I see no reason why we should be looked down upon for doing so.

I realize you can cloud the title by recording the notarized signed contract in the county records prior to showing potential buyers the property, but are there any other methods or tactics to be aware of?

Must be notarized under penalty of perjury. 

@Matt NicoAgree on the payment and get a FULL AND FINAL LIEN WAIVER notarized

The counties will not accept the deed unless it's the original signatures and notarized.

The Philippines is an interesting market, the loan terms and what not are very different from the US market.

The only thing holding up the whole transaction is the fact that his wife is currently living in Chennai, India where the COVID situation is pretty severe and we need her to notarize a Power of Attorney Deed by a U.S.

Many people aren't even aware that you can do this but with these smaller properties I simply have the seller notarize the deed and I send it to the county to be recorded. 

ex. paying monthly interest until I can pay in full, writing a contract and notarizing, or giving a large chunk of rental income until paid back in full...