I vowed that this would never, ever, happen again.How do you explain selling a lecture he home in a gated community at $131 a foot when the closest comp in the area was $109 a foot?

He doesn't have the master, but he has individual keys to the gates and all the units.

If you just try to go build a custom site out the gate, I suspect it will not work out well.However, don't mix up two concepts: (1) SEO rank, and (2) conversion rate.  

@Glenn R. the high end rents all depend on the area, community, market etc... for example, I have a home in Windermere, Fl that is gated 5 bed, 5000+ sq. ft with a pool that is worth a million and rents for $5800, I also have one that is in the guard/ gated community of windermere/Isleworth that is a 2/2 furnished for $5000.

You will offer a contract of sale where there would be no commission or settlement cost and that your offer is NET to seller.Once you have control you can now work on locating an assignee - you have options -List it - not a great option -  if you want a fast sale -listing it will take too long - too many contingencies - too many gate keepers.Offer it privately for sale - all cash - as is - social media - too many moving parts - you need to negotiate with prospective buyers, show the property - write a contract of sale - and demand CASH - won't be easy - My favorite option (remember I am an auctioneer) - offer the property - while in contract - at PUBLIC AUCTION - advertise it for 3 weeks and let the auctioneer do his magic - it is fast - predictable - all cash and as is without contingencies. 

It sounds like you banking on appreciation, your best bet is to make sure whatever you purchase it needs to cash flow out of the gate.

There are many pros, but two cons that seem most prominent in my mind of the bat: 1) getting a license doesn't make you an expert out of the gate, even with MLS - an experienced real estate agent can guide you into an emerging market that you might not know about vs. an obvious, saturated market, for example, or explain why a comp only .2 miles away is actually no good for your prospective purchase, among other things 2) if any litigation were to arise in your r.e. business, having a license will almost undoubtedly mean you are held to a higher standard, probably with respect to any aspect of the deal. 

I don't want to buy the commercial property personally, I want that in the business out of the gate.  

some people you will haul around still mainly in rural settings were finding the property without the agent may not be possible  or locked gates that kind of thing.but riding in the car gave you time to build reporte' with buyers as well.

That's $20K before you're out the gate.