On your investing journey make sure you open your mind to investing in remote locations whether in Canada (not many places left) or better yet in certain US markets.

This was a complete surprise out of left field, so I threw out a big number - close to our best case scenario flip profit to see if they would bite.

And as @Jay Hinrichs mentions, in some states the borrower can reinstate and you become the owner of a paying (or in many cases, a non-paying note again) and you need to start the foreclosure process all over again.It sounds like you may have a tape from Kondaur, they are notorious for taking their loans right up to the foreclosure then dispose of them. 

I found out and checked with them that my answer was right and the answer was unashamedly "you're the first who found out!".

I assume most have a list of buyers that they market their houses to but I'm not really sure how to find my way onto the right lists.

If they don’t have folks on staff that can help they can usually point in the right direction.  

While it’s possible engaging in one of these programs can shorten the time required to become a “power” agent considerably, it also may be a gigantic waste of money if marketing efforts are engaged without waiting for the all important test results.One popular career tract being offered in collegiate business programs across the world right now is marketing data analytics - analyzing the results of test marketing campaigns and applying/interpreting these results to form an effective and profitable marketing program.The other choice is to engage one of the many companies that will set up a generic real estate agency website for you, with the usual stock photos as well as MLS feed, create a blog and tie it to the new website, and start posting information and answering questions are various social media sites.After getting your feet wet, you can purchase services such as SEO, or a PPC campaign, on a a la charge basis, and track the results using one of many analytical programs available online.

Finding the right property manager is so important, especially when you are traveling often.

You're right!

REO properties, and there are far less of them right now, are not quick offloads.