The PM handles almost everything except the decision-making.Would it be rude or inappropriate if I communicated directly with the PM without involving my realtor?

But it just depends on your risk threshold and how much you're looking to spend.  

With online access to almost every jurisdictions property recordings, lenders today use software that automatically searches property transfers for transfers involving their loans.  

The real skill is understanding the variability and risk in each number which is not always numerical or scientific.

This is not a great return, but not terrible.As others noted, there are other risks, like having the property insured at full replacement or purchase price, or if the option is 100% seller financing with no money down or very little, versus 20% traditional down payment, this can start to move it into a better investment.

We can't risk a client sending an unlicensed or non-qualified contractor into the property as we share liability for that.  

On the MGA side their in-house product is assigned to a different writing company depending on the state and risk. 

There are also several funds out there that provide high single digit yields that are low risk. 

Advantages - greater return and greater risk than investing in say a private lending fund.

Mike has been easy to work with for me, I don't know the other guy who it looks like was involved in Four Peaks.