Be polite and courteous but also get to the point without wasting a ton of their time.

Once you have that list you'll then identify which (based upon priority and lien holder incentive) are worth trying to negotiate and which are a waste of time. 

I’d love to go after them, but I don’t want to waste money if it’s futile.

So if your waiting your wasting your time.

Don't waste your money on the hardwood. 

Am I wasting my time?

I'm trying to minimize wasting time going into a bank and talking with someone who "wants" to help me, but they really don't have a track record of working with investors.Specifically:   I'm looking for lines of credit for me personally or for my real estate LLC.  

If they know what a deal is they either buy it themselves or have investors already that do.Bandit signs are a crime, and a waste of time.If you aren't sure if your "deal" is a deal, take it to a hard money lender.

The commercial listing broker representing the developer, institution seller,etc. remembers the (deal that didn't HAPPEN) where legal expenses, time, and effort was wasted on a failed attempt at a sale.

Why wast time learning to buy single family houses?