I'd have fewer issues paying the licensed person as they are closer to the SS limit.  

Here are just some of the things people have mentioned wanting from an investor-friendly agent (none of these are from the same person): - as mentioned previously, they themselves invest (and they don't steal the deals from you to take for themselves)- a decent number of deals done (but as @Joe Facenda said, this could be misleading. and everyone gave a different number for what was "decent")- they go out of their way to find great deals for you- they understand the investor's point of view and can speak the language even if they don't invest- they know the laws around airbnbing, renting out, zoning, permitting, etc.- they have a network of investor-friendly lenders, contractors, property managers, etc.

Saj,  first merry X mas  all my grandkids are still sleeping LOL.. you cannot compare any rentals in the bay area to many other areas of the US. when I talk section 8 I am talking were so many folks go OOS and in those areas were section 8 dominates the rental market it can be very very tough on a landlord and especially one who is not there..  

I consider myself more skilled in DIY trades than the average person as well so definitely looking to leverage those skills as part of my investment strategy. 

I'm not going to partner with someone who is not committed to "Partnering" (which to me is a joint effort towards a common goal--looking out for each other as well as ourselves).In a nutshell I am looking to be FAIR to the other person (as well as to myself) vs exploiting someone due to having an upper hand, and I expect the same from the other person.

Sometimes it is useful to supervise the repair or you can use it as a chance to build relationship with the service provider.One thing I never do is "vouch" for the repair person. As

You would definitely need to trust this person a great deal.

@Dylan Thomas“I’m not as much a relationship person as a get it done at all costs person” will certainly do you no favours in the long term.

I consider myself a somewhat uncreative, numbers-driven person. As

@Nadir M. As