Your CPA would love you, but your wallet would not.On the other hand, if you own a number of rental properties I wouldn't necessarily put them all into the same LLC (especially if they represent your life's savings). 

I thought great, we haven't found the perfect rental yet and I won't have to make the drive again.My broker says not to trust them, that they will steal my commission if I am not there for it but that if I have it in writing (via email) that the agent understands I am representing them and will be entitled to my portion of the commission if they rent the unit.Do you think this is enough protection?

In an attempt to get a good deal, has anyone ever thrown in low ball offers and told the listing agent they can represent both the selling and buying side?

Better to get one now who also will represent you when you have a problem tenant.

However what the 311 representatives told you is complete BS.

If this avoided expense is viewed as income, it represents an additional 2.43% return ($2,000 divided by $82,322) in addition to state and local taxes which may have been avoided as well.

However, there's no sense in getting angry about what I think is right, at this point I just need to make sure that I am properly represented by ANOTHER professional that I am trusting to do a professional job.

If your realtor used the CAR (California Association of Realtors)  form for the application and the lease. the application says the applicant represents that all information is true.

Here's how I do it:Realtor, I trust their judgement I mean after all that's why they are representing me.

In my experience, having your OWN buyers agent provides you with an agent who represents you (and not the seller/HUD) I understand that it can be annoying for an assistant to show up up, but that agent should not have even shown you the place without signing some type of an agreement/disclosure.