They will want to walk through the place and may change their offer based on their personal inspection. 5.

Other option, be a person of solution on where they are going next, help them find a place rental etc., or get them lined up with a residence in and pay for it for the first month. 

It's much if you can see the property in person. 

When I've met the dog in person, it's very calm and nice; it just seems to bark a lot when its owner is not home.

I have personally been raked over the coals on some south side properties with squatters because I wasn't prepared for the time it would take to stabalize the building.

@Russell BrazilMy thought process is the contractor could potentially win your business by providing you a quote on rehab costs.Have you had a contractor walk a potential property with you?

The main thing I’ve learned is leads are the lifeline of any business. 

Do I just simply say, "I want to buy your house if interested" and keep it general or make it more personalized, "foreclosures are tough, I would like to help." 

The IRA funds would not be able to be combined with other personal funds as in your note above. 

I have about $300 on my credit cards (just finally paid them off for the most part, and have about $20,000 limit).My cash on hand is relatively light, but what my plan was was to find some single family homes in the north Detroit area (currently anywhere from $40-$60k and put about $15-20k tops into any repairs or fixes (not looking for total rehabs, mostly something I can do some small repairs here and there and paint, personally I am knowledgeable about renovating up until complex electric and plumbing).