It’s really not that that expensive if you go to a public school.

Credit reports can help to give you a holistic view of the prospective tenant's payment history as well as any current debts or public records they have, which may foreshadow how likely they are to pay rent on time (aka, how quickly you get a check!). 

Trusts create this anonymity by removing your name from public record.

2) Being a noob with no real connections, how does one get started connecting with wholesalers or otherwise getting access to properties not listed to the public?

One thing to consider is how often your recorder's office updates their electronic public records - IE here in Chicago, we record a document but it might not show up in searches for 30-45 days.

I also am a licensed RE agent in MA.Hey Jay, Here's what my agent had to say about it"Hey yeah, that lot in Johnston is listed at 20.5k, it's connected to public sewer and water.

A few people I know find their real estate through the MLS, Zillow, Nextdoor (surprisingly they show RE for sale in your neighborhood), and public sites. 

The POF I sent the seller wasn't enough for the 20% required from the lender and the seller addressed that; you're spot on.A couple of experienced BP apartment investors have reached out to me via inbox (vs this public thread) and they're graciously looking at the details of this (and other apartment(s)) where I'm direct to the seller.

Other than that, they don't come around to check.I had a SFR rental  tenant complaining about a neighboring house rented to roommates, they often have friends coming over to play cards, park their cars in the public street in front of our SFR.

The contract works because it protects everyone’s interest in deals and it prevents other wholesalers from “stealing” deals or daisy chaining (pushing deals out to the public that aren’t there’s to push).If you want to close more deals, in a reasonable amount of time, use documents that are acceptable to title companies and attorneys.