Brad, So far you have not received much of a reply. One person will pay but their 'ad' is poorly written so one can not tell what they are setting as a condition. The other is suggesting you do exactly what you want to avoid. Doing the legwork. There are services out there but most want an up front payment. Illegal in some states while still legal in other states. A friend knows a firm that does the work on a contingency basis. The firm likes chasing short sales and will work on a 40/60 split (40% to you, 60% to them). I have never used them but it sounds almost fair given you are not doing the work. You state that you want to help the home owner. Are you serious about this? An emotional minefield is my view. If you want to help you really should consider signing up to do the work. If you just want to refer them to someone else then find a short sale investor who you can trust. Offer no commitments or even implied commitments to the home owner. You want no liability if you are just trying to help while not doing the actual work. John Corey

Have you tried to get the S/S under contract and assign it to a buyer.  That's basically a wholesale deal it just requres a little more time and patience.