It sounds like to me that your agent is used to working with normal home buyers who make decisions in large part based on emotion.

If you are going to develop into a full time professional real estate investor you are going to have to develop emotional intelligence along with everything else.

I know how buying a house for a primary residence can become an emotional decision which increases the amount a person is willing to pay... but with attempting to pick up a long-term buy and hold, at least in my experience, the profitably is largely determined at purchase (and of course subsequent to this, proper tenant screening and management of the property).

My family was very attached with the one we moved from, reason being the first home and the time and emotional attachement with the house we spend that we ended up renting and it’s still being rented after 8 years with good tenant and in great neighborhood.

AS for owner occ homes or new construction.. folks buy those on need and emotion.. not on financial return calcs.. 

You are also working with less emotional clients and ones that are making more of a financial decision verses worrying about the color of the walls or what kind of flooring is in the living room.

Gone are the days when a property was offered up for  no more than the amount of taxes owed, now days it has become a bidding process and as in any auction enviroment people tend to get emotional about their bidding and become quite impractical, and irrational buyers

Hang in there and maintain discipline.

What are the thoughts out there taking on both disciplines? 

Clean it up, rent it at market rate, and pat yourself for making a "business" decision instead of an emotional one.