In place of a flat fee I can see the transition being something based on referral (did my buyer agent get me a trades person, lender, home inspector, etc.

But I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world.

Trading off current cashflow for principal payoff in the future?

He hires and manages the trades and all the labor.

There's always trade offs when it comes to investing and one of those tradeoffs (if you want to find positive cash flow) is having to be okay with an older house.

You want an accountant that can help you strategize and who is responsive when you want to know the tax consequences of the decisions you are making throughout the year.Good luck in your search.

I think an equally probable scenario is that we'll convert it to a rental, and then look into a 1031 exchange if we think we can trade into a better-performing asset. 

By definition, these type of loans are not the same quality as what is traded on wall street. 

You may see if you have one in your area that you could trade your property into something nicer. 

We have trades we use on jobs and know what they will charge which is often considerably less than what Joe Homeowner would pay for the same job . . . the trades know we will be using them again and again.