By the looks of it, I think I'm gonna stick with REI though :) Thank you BP for all of your insightful knowledge and showing me the path towards financial freedom! 

I'd like to work with you if you're willing to help me.If there aren't any deaf BiggerPockets Members....is there anyone out there who would work WITH me to start my path to financial freedom?

they pull at every emotional heart string.. you deserve this .. this is so simple do you have what it takes.. your financial freedom number.. like being self employed is something everyone wants. some do fine other fail.. and these are just training programs they don't guarantee success.. just like watching BP pod cast or reading blogs or talking on this site hardly guarantees your success.. real estate is hard.. it takes drive money and dedication .

Meaning I only need to submit my personal financial statement every 6-8 months and that’s it.

(future value) Plug the numbers in a financial calculator and get your yield.

I know that credit scores can misrepresent actual financial history.

If so, I'd pass because that shows a consistent pattern of poor financial behavior and you can bet you'll soon be added to that list.The point is, you should look at more than just the score. 

This is also where relationships help if you have a lender that you have been working with and he understands your overall financial position, he can be a bit more flexible; as @Jeff Dulla mentioned, I would wait until you are closer to actually making offers to get a pre-authorization.  

I would request financials from the sellers and tried to find commonalities, or trends. 

Even when buying multiple properties from the same seller at the same time, pretty much everything now is one to one - meaning one parcel, one contract.I've bought and sold a decent amount of properties, many purchases were directly from financial institutions, however there is only 1 occurrence in my life (7 years ago) that I purchased a bundle of assets on the same contract - and half of those assets were total garbage and the deal was a disaster.