If you do decide to invest the in the Cleveland market, I can definitely send you some good referrals for agents, contractors, lenders, property managers and brokers in the area that I've had great experiences with!  

As agents, we need to add real value and this is not the way to do business.My tip for agents looking for deals for investors is to be more worried about your client than your commission and more focused on providing value than making everyone else do your job.

As far as I know, there is No state where a licensed broker can’t pay a referral fee to a Florida broker. since you are an agent, assuming you are a member if your mls....you have access to the Fl Legal Hotline for agents.....your broker can guide you. gents/brokerages in other states should also know this off the top of their head. 

This is an integral part of doing deals, the wholesale community maybe push the numbers in their favor to make that deal happen, that is of course not okay, and the same thing is said for agents that say they can list a home for $20K more than the next realtor just to get that listing then ask for the price reduction later (this just happened to me).This is a company that I tend to hear more bad things about then good things and that is where the caution needs to be taken into real consideration and make sure you are doing with with people that are looking for a win-win, not a win-lose/sometimes win-win which can happen in real estate more often then not if a person is not looking out for themselves.

Alex, check the forums for agents in Baltimore here.

Also, where is a good place to look for agents that have experience looking for self storage properties for sale. 

If you need a couple resources for agents, I'd be happy to share the agents I work with (one being my husband).

It's becoming even more important for agents to deepen their expertise and offer that essential guidance and insight.For folks going at it without an agent, the challenges could ramp up.

I do think new models will emerge however the more I digest this settlement & believe me I more than anyone would love to see the industry transformed, I think the more likely outcome is just reduced net commissions and reduced volume for agents, while not being an extinction level event either.

So, there's been a big shake-up in the real estate world, especially for agents.