I got this property at the right time, it was on the market for $699,000.00, seller needed to sell, I offered $550,000.00 after they cut to $650,000.00 and we agreed on $600,000.00.

I agree Don and in my earlier days in Northern CA brokerage activity it was common for listing agent to take less than selling agent.. when I moved North to OR WA it was the opposite listing agent would take a larger cut and they would justify it saying they did that because they had to pay for advertising and marketing etc..

It cuts down on the CoC and IRR markers they are monitoring.

You may want to try hiring a local handyman that you can email jobs to do and speak with 1-2 times weekly, meet 1-2 times monthly.Most will put on a good show for a few months then either get lazy and cut corners or start raising prices.

So buying occupied homes is something you want to be careful about.. its not juust cut and dry.

@Taylor Cook Every deal I've done they cut the security deposits separate from the settlement statement.

If you want more affordability, CUT programs, CUT tax's, REDUCE centralization. 

Their posts were welcome and a cut and paste and when one checked their activity that was 90% of their participation.

People who cut corners like this are likely to cut corners in other ways that may cause the LLC to be "Pierced".

@Carl Rowles we screen all tenants exactly the same, but know several of our local competitors cut corners to attract more S8 applicants - waiving application fees, security deposits, etc.You can try to weed out applicants that have poor "house maintenance" skills by doing surprise zoom calls and asking them to show you their kitchen, bathroom and another room.