I have a few properties on he eastern shore of Md, feel free to reach out with any questions.

Search anything on the DC side of Eastern Ave side of DC will put you close to Deanwood Metro but does not always appear in the Deanwood search.

But if I were a renter again and looking around the eastern suburbs I'd probably look around Beulah Rd (close enough to the city/highway to be a reasonable commute) or explore some of the other neighborhoods on the fringe of the city.

Here in MA, MLSPIN (our main MLS in eastern MA) requires that the commission be stated in the listing as either a dollar amount or as a percentage of the sale and that all parties are required by contract with MLSPIN to accept that amount.I've not seen an instance where a short sale or REO refused to pay an agent/buyer, but the MLSPIN contract is the first place I'd go if they tried.As @Derek Carroll said, be sure to disclose up front that you're a licensed agent and you're also the buyer.

We're on Maryland's eastern shore.

I use Canada Western Trust and I believe Olympia Trust and Laurentian's B2B Bank and Eastern Trust offer custodial and servicing for arms-length mortgages in registered accounts.

You can try Eastern Savings Bank, they are a small commercial lender out of Maryland (Google their info) I dealt with Kurt K.

The eastern side of Union City actually benefits from that, and property costs in Union City tend to decrease the further west you go.

They affects mostly lower priced eastern suburbs. 

I am/was licensed by the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance and taught at Bromont in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.