People who bought the home said they didn't want to risk losing it to another investor so they went through it themselves while I was there and said they'll take it as is.

It's a little nerve racking for me to give up control of those phone calls because if your VA doesn't do a good job you could potentially lose a deal from that lead that you spent money on.However, if I want to grow my business I'm learning that I need to be able to give up control so that I can scale. 

For a flip, the difference could end up meaning you lose money on the deal....

But if its a deal you need to be quick or you will lose out. 3.

When you get ready to dive in buy 1st non performing notes and forget about 2nds you can lose all your money when the 1st foreclose.Joe Gore

If buyer walks away does he lose his earnest money?

my immediate goal starting out is to not lose money. my near term/intermediate (six-nine months) goal is to build relationships with small/regional banks and help them with their NPN (my question back to BP Nation: is that realistic or pie in the sky???)

That way at least the property manager doesn't lose any money.

It's hard to "lose" a house that is owned free and clear.Where are you in you life and your investing goals?

And, $1,500/mo rent doesn't even seem like it would cover the mortgage payment on a $300,000 mortgage, which would leave you losing money each month, even without reserves or expenses.Given that your max rent is $1500/mo, I don't see this working even if you could negotiate a significant reduction via a short sale.