Most listings have 2.5-3% allocated to the buyers agent already written into the listing agreement but you could write into the offer something lower, adjust the offer price lower accordingly and then pay your agent directly instead. 

You may want to adjust your criteria a bit and sacrifice projected cash flow for stability and projectability.All the best to you in your investment journey!

I offered a month’s rent in addition to what was reasonable for loss of use of 7 weeks of garage and 2 weeks of kitchen/bathroom unavailability (adjusted for back rent for unauthorized pet) but no response from tenant other than pursuing legal option unless I share Landlord insurance details.

It's crucial to evaluate how the deal performs with the new mortgage:Updated Financials After Refinancing: Market Value: $250,000 Mortgage Amount (80% LTV): $200,000 Equity: $50,000 Interest Rate: 5% (30-Year Amortization) Assuming after 12months the rate will drop from 6% to 5%Monthly Expenses: Mortgage Payment: $1,074 Property Tax: $260 (4% Adjustment from last year) Utilities: $309 (+3% Adjustment) Insurance: $104 (+4% Adjustment) Vacancy: $105 Repairs & Maintenance: $105 (now after 12 months we can assume we have repairs at 5% factor on annual rent) Total Monthly Expenses: $1,957Rent Income after 12 months assuming annual rent increase at 5% : $2,100Cash Flow: $143 per month 😊Year 2 Return on investment $2,951 Principal Paydown year 2 $20,000 Property Appreciation (assuming 8% per year) $1,720 Yearly Cash Flow (this will increase as rents rise) $50,000 Initial Equity Total Gain $74,671 with just $ $22,789 remaining in the deal. 

The $80K from the HELOC used for personal debt won’t affect taxes but must be repaid upon sale if tied to the property.To minimize taxes, keep detailed records of your remodel expenses and selling costs to adjust your taxable gain.

Curious how this will play out in the courts (granted it's LTR) and affect pricing products used for STR such as PriceLabs (which I use but have to seriously manually adjust for very specific reasons).

How is the investing climate in Alaska? 

With an owner-occupied loan, you can buy a house with 0-5% down and get 30-year fixed rate financing so you're not dealing with adjustable rates if rates go back up and not dealing with a balloon payment in 6-24 months which is plenty of time for an experienced investor but not a whole lot if you're new. 

It's adjustable based on size, erring on the side of generosity.

We’re seeing investors adjust their acquisition number and buy at deeper discounts to account for higher financing costs.