Can anyone list some benefits/drawbacks of purchasing an REO property?

Indeed, an ethical agent in this situation will keep these details to themselves.ConsConflict of interest: This is the biggest drawback to dual agency and the reason why some states ban it.

There are drawbacks. 

A month to month can be better for some properties, but there can be drawbacks too.

There are drawbacks to these units as they are usually smaller 1 bedroom apts, so there is more turnover, but for now I am managing.

The draw back to these loans is that they are more paperwork heavy than the other "portfolio" types of loans....but if you have ever received a loan on your primary home, it's likely that you will go through the same type of paperwork here with conventional lending.

The only drawback to that is the additional agent fees that would cost the seller.This is just my 2 cents based on what I have learned.

What are the benefits and drawbacks from using it?

LLCs are cheap in most states, (not all note California) and not all states give the same weight, but all states give some.There are still drawbacks to using LLCs, like more difficulty in getting loans, or higher interest rates, annual filings, keeping minutes, etc. 

So, that's a bit of a drawback.