I apply for fundind from  a private lender  and they want upfront fees  is this normal or should i look out  and there charging low interst rate

Does this seem normal that a property management team requires this type fee just to ask the owner a question?

Normally seasoned agents will shy away knowing that you are looking in that price range.

They asked me to get deed of trust and promissory note created by attorney and turn in with the deed, Is this normal?  

With the returns you can produce off of a great deal you can offer returns to investors that would normally take them years to realize in more conventional investment accounts where their money is sitting. last resort should be hard money lenders.

I do normally factor in about 20% of rent right off the top for vacancy + repairs + capex, I guess my question was more at what point should I stop saving excess income for future repairs and capex costs, and start putting it into more properties or investments?

What are the normal discounted prices?

My JV normally has my profit first and the rest is split 70/30 in their favor. 

I like to approach homeowners as just a normal person like them, trying to buy a property.

Even if you have positive cash flow in a normal situation, what happens if, because economy repeats 2007/08, several of your properties default on rent and it takes three months to evict them?