Tell everyone in your sphere of influence that you are now a real estate professional and would like to help them and anyone that they know buy or sell real estate.

He negotiated a $5k discount on the purchase price, and I moved forward with the deal.Fast forward to now - after seeing water in the basement, I hired a professional to inspect it, and the news was not great.

Utilizing the many resources to analyze deals and help find investor friendly professionals in your area has helped me tremendously.  

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

It sounds like the reason you wanted to do this was to achieve Real Estate Professional Status. 

From googling, it would appear I need to hire a professional.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Consulting a tax professional before making use changes can help maximize deductions while staying compliant.This post does not create a CPA-Client relationship.

BP is a great place to connect and meet real estate investors and professionals.

But i want to get this community's professional and hopefully unbiased opinion about common RE agent practices in Idaho.