And since the deals I’m involved in are $1million - $5 million, that “extra” income from broker commission has been as much as $150,000 + !.  

I suspect your damages will not be worth much pursuit, but maybe a letter to seller and seller’s RE broker indicating the issue might result in some recovery.  

Also there are note brokers.

I agree with Jonathan that most people focus on a cute website, logo, CRM, etc.Use an underwriting template that you fell comfortable with, start with opting into broker's list, call them, and get on property tours.

Can the attorney "broker" this deal or not their job?

It's the same work to do a $55K loan as a $500K loan so the fees will be higher due to the loan amount but will still be much lower than what a lender or broker gets paid on a higher loan amount.

You need a brokers license to do it legally too so take that into account with your analysis

So this post is to be mainly geared toward to help set expectations for out-of-state investors, and I'm hoping for some solid contributions from people who are actively (or recently) involved in successful acquisition/disposition of smaller MF in the Charlotte MSA (broker, owner, lender.. etc). 

UNDER $1M IS TOO SMALLI talked to a few commercial brokers, and I am under the impression that it's very hard to find anything valuable in self-storage for under $1 million.

Tell her you will be calling her broker to settle things.