Tampa’s my personal favorite (yeah, I’m biased), with strong growth, great tenant demand, and a balance of cash flow and appreciation.

Interview a number of tax attorneys and get personalized advice for your exact situation. 

The agent will not be paying you/seller/buyer because the agent does not bring money to the seller/buyer in any fashion in a transaction (typical transactions), unless this agent is a partner to that person buying the property, or they are a principal to the property.Let me know if that makes sense. 

We are a boutique firm in Chattanooga and every agent in our firm is personally involved in either real estate development, owns investment properties or flips homes. 

Personally never heard of this scheme or way to set up transactions. 

I'm based out of Raleigh and personally own rental properties in Fayetteville, Benson and Clayton and could offer some friendly advice and help out with your journey. 

Quote from @Leonard La Rocca III: So is it common to find a conventional loan without meeting the lender in-person?

Hard to say one way or another without knowing your personal finances, goals etc., but it seems like a good deal. 

They specialized in concrete tilt up, but did a lot of time and materials work for a self made real estate tycoon who owned a lot of Federal Way.Along the way I got my CPA license and practiced in several differing sectors including doing some work with low income housing projects.As far as my start in RE, it was with buying my first personal SFR and later moving to a new residence. 

I don't personally care about checks anymore so that wasn't an important feature for me.