If not, paying commissions is not a problem, provided you do not perform brokerage activities (representing buyers or sellers in an Agency relationship of properties you do not own).

I never list my own home and have someone representing myself as agent to take care of avoiding exposures like you described.

I put the few questions in parentheses.Thank you,TonyPlan:possibly start out with small, unimproved/vanant land1)Find buyers and make a buyers list--Market your wholesaling business---Using bandit signs "I sell houses dirt cheap"---Business cards---Internet---Real estate meet-ups2)Find a lawyer that can help make a contract--due diligence clause--option agreement--allow both parties to know who you are representing to avoid legal disputes (buyer & seller)3)Find my target area where I will do my house searching--Using the County Appraisal District4)Find distressed properties--Tall grass--Piled up mail--Boarded up windows--Take a pen & paper, take notes and pictures of the property5)Create an excel spreadsheet of the property--Owner-occupied?

My advice- open a PM LLC for yourself and represent yourself to your tenants as the on-site rep for that PM company.

I did pay them all to represent my best interest in the transaction and in retrospect I was thinking that water and sewer are common charges that are billed to the property as opposed to a person so did someone drop the ball?  

I mean they are paying for the advertising they are doing and they never got a contract with you or an exclusive right to represent.

Tons of turnkey providers from various markets represented here on Bigger Pockets.

I would start with a Independent agent with multiple markets (companies they represent) and have them shop it for you. 

When you buy with cash most of what you are seeing is artificial cash flow from your own equity and does not represent the cash flow from the property itself.

Roll that into a 30 year fixed rate loan, and only put 20% down, then being represented by a professional is pretty small potatoes.