so kudos to you for figuring that out. 

When we post theses its hard to figure out where.

I haven't figured out how to reply directly in a forum yet. =)However, this is still early, I've only had access since Friday. 

.- It's not profitable for them to search for under-market priced houses, figure out repairs needed or what other problem is pushing the price down and do even more for a newbie investor that has analysis-paralysis and may never buy anything.Some questions you'll want to share the answers to with any agent you choose:1) Are you paying cash or getting a mortgage?

Not only will it possibly save you a little money, you'll develop skills and figure out the nuances of real estate investing that you can't learn from a computer.Out of curiosity, what type of properties are you looking to add to your portfolio?

Big expense up front, additional expenses over the life of the lock, they can be too complicated for renters to figure out, and they don't solve all the problems a landlord may face.

DIY A first-time DIYer can expect to spend several hours replacing a kitchen faucet.The time it takes depends on your experience and the faucet's complexity.You'll need tools like wrenches, a putty knife, and a small bucket.You'll also need materials like supply lines, silicone caulk, and plumbers tape.You may be tempted to be cheap and estimate only 30 minutes, but you should estimate an hour to be safe.What about the time to go to the property to figure out if a 2-hole or 3-hole faucet is needed, then drive to Home Depot to get it, drive back to install and then head either to the next job or back to the office?

I would rather not go to multiple lenders trying to figure out who does what if someone on here has had good experience with a particular lender already that does this type of loans.

Knowing your current state comps is a great place to start and a real estate agent can help pull those figures quickly. 

It's a competitive market and most of the people that get in trouble here are ones that buy blindly without actually figuring out the numbers, etc.You'd be surprised the number of times I get asked after month one if their electric bill of $xxx or whatever is normal, and the thought running through my head is "how did you not  check things like that before you committed half a million dollars to something?"