Drill through notices of default, sift trough probate at the courts.

You'll get someone in almost immediately and if they default, the get evicted and then almost immediately again you'll have someone else with the same large down payment to move in.

I need to work on a way to show how clear it is I can manage the portfolio at an extremely high level so they aren't concerned about my defaulting/letting the properties go down hill.

Many lenders have them and it limits their exposure to default.  

One of the additional problems of doing this kind of loan through a retirement plan is that your options really are more limited if there is a default on the senior liens.

Even people with degrees default on their mortgages.

You should be able to go to the county tax assessor who should with that apn number be able to tell you just about everything one would want to know about a piece of property wheather Its ii in default or not.

To grasp why a home would go into default then foreclosure, that eventually leads to the property being an REO, you have to wrap your mind around the dynamics of economic trends in this country.

Here's a link to a PDF from State of Colorado regarding this and other notices that may be helpfulhttps://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/Attachment%2010-Landord%20and%20Tenant%20Rights.pdf

But the bank can TAKE it if you default on the loan.