A month post closing, the son of the buyer (mother) has written a "legal" request to have us buy him a new refrigerator.  

We weren't willing to take that risk.My wife operated our first home and after a few months we found a really solid knowledgeable manager who took over operations while still working closely with my wife. 

You can identify a replacement property within 45 days and close in 180.

I haven't closed any deals in Walton, but Gwinnett and Rockdale are fine.  

Practice analyzing deals, explore surrounding markets if NYC feels too competitive, and stay persistent, closing your first deal takes time but is well worth the effort.Good luck!

I want them to see the total picture and then keep whittling down to where they get close to say a 5% error rate. 

The close date comes and passes without notice despite me reaching out. 

well if I ever make it to the Smokies to see what the draw is  I will rent a condo then :)  I am just guess but I suspect folks that go there want to be in the woods and hear the birds and maybe some local mtn views etc.. or some sort of privacy they never get at home out east were there is not very much public lands close to where they live in the big city. ????

But after working with him, I realized he was very systematic and mostly cared about closing deals without much care for the client's long term needs.Here’s an example: I had a $10K escrow with the seller—$5K due upfront and $5K after the inspection.

Evaluate the situation to see if you could have done anything differently to mitigate the loss and implement changes to your processes, but know that this happens and hoepfully just not too close together.