There are plenty of investor/agents out there that represent themselves, but there are also plenty of investors out there that have no desire to be a part of the transaction except collecting the check.

@Ryan DworakWelcome to to the site and love that Wisconsin is so represented on this thread.  

I plan on calling the owner, sending him a letter, emailing the attorney that was representing him, calling that attorney, sending that attorney a letter.... at least to start. 

I agree that the pictures do not represent the type of home we will normally be purchasing.

Since you are not in the states you really need to hire an attorney to represent you in this case.

But for a run of the mill single family, $200.00.If you want to educate yourself, go to the inspection with the lead representative and pick his brain.

My assistant spends probably 50% of his time dealing with deposits during our summer months, which only represents 2-4%% of the gross income for the whole year. 

I agree with @Anton Ivanov, at the VERY least you need to have a representative inspecting it for you.However, while I will agree with people here that say, especially on your first deal (and your first deal with any new provider in the future), it is important to lay eyes on a property, I think your chief issue is something a bit more basic - you haven't narrowed down your market or your turnkey provider yet, which leaves you needing to investigate properties all over the country. 

Carriers that represent individual unit owners are aware of this and try to stick the Association with the cost of paying for your damage.

Hi Ryan,I represent a note investor who may be interested.