Yes it can be worth it, just don't expect to get rich quick lolMidterm rental has been my strategy and I'll definitely be sticking to it for the next few years.

But you don't have to pay the full 5.34% to a traditional agent.

You might put down 10-20%, which can be easier to manage compared to traditional financing.A motivated seller can be open to different terms, especially if the property has been sitting for a while, so just be creative and make sure the deal works for both sides.

I don't want to do a traditional cash out refinance because the house would no longer cash flow and I don't have the funds to buy him out straightforward.

There will always be hurus claiming to make you rich for a fee ... remember people like Carlton Sheets from the 80s?

Typically, you'll pay higher interest than traditional lenders.

In this scenario, they are investing in the auction and can take a share of the profits rather than operating as a traditional lender.

We've reached the point where there are now more gurus selling their get-rich-quick crap than there are properties for sale in America. 

This would include money normally budgeted for a traditional loan payment + money simply not needed (positive cash-flow).  

Quote from @Andy Port: I'm currently looking to take some money out of traditional investments and begin investing directly into real estate as a passive investor on syndicated deals.The internet is pretty much copy-paste with advice on how to access real estate and defaults to saying "Just invest in a REIT - its the same" except you pay for the entire pool of existing properties (even if they have low yields in less opportunistic areas), the entire management team's multi-million dollar salary and their private jet, etc...