She will probably stay for 10 yrs as there is nothing cheaper in this area (where she works) and surrounding, cheaper areas are marginal.

Margins are quite thin here.

Lots of work, little margins, but hey, that's what I do, ...my "labor of love"!

That tells me that the buyer is in fantasy land.The odds of finding that deal and closing it and me getting paid is slim to none.Real brokers and agents aren't in the charity business.You might get a new agent to help a new investor and that can be the blind leading the blind.So is the buyer serious and realistic for the market is the key.There is a difference between a loser deal,marginal,good,great,and insane deal.If as an investor you can get into a good to great deal for an area you are realistic.If you are looking for an insane deal shotgunning all kinds of unrealistic offers you are not only wasting the broker/agents time but also yours as well.So do not always blame the broker/agent for not getting the deal you want.It could be you are unrealistic in your goals for the area.If investors are gobbling up properties at 50k and you want at 30k then you need to change to an area to find 30k properties or come up closer to 50k to compete.

Though package deals are more intimidating there really isn't anything different in the process, except for that maybe you might cut your per deal profit margin down some.Package deals are exciting, and they can catapult your business.

My rentals do not generally attract marginal tenants who live financially on the edge.

Investors who purchase on margin give the brokerage firm the right to liquidate those pledge securities in the event of a margin call.Astute lenders, always aware of the chance of a bankruptcy would place covenants on loans to secure their interests in adverse event.

I know that I can raise rents to increase cashflow, but is it worth taking the small profit-margin, short term?

I have analyzed this very thing in the past and have always concluded that doing the full complete rehab will deliver the best profit margin.

McBride crunched the numbers in a pre-bubble era (2004) for a home purchased at $200,000 by a buyer in the 27 percent marginal tax bracket.