Sorry, I can see offering a discount for a limited time only, after which the price goes up to whatever the full cost is, but NO reputable seller/instructor is going to literally only give you a total of 10 minutes to make your decision.Sixth, depending on the market you are in, and the specific deals you find, $10,000 could be a ridiculously small finder's fee.

Until that time, I am assuming that I am dealing with a reputable firm that is making the best of a bad situation.

Our agent seems incredibly stressed by it all, she's spent decades building her reputation which is now being dragged down by this guy but I don't know what she can do.  

Note investors who think learning from people who scam others out of millions is a good idea and a way to have a good reputation in the space. 

They can change terms basically at anytime before closing for non-owner occupied - is it good for the reputation - absolutely not - but it does occur.

The website 51west.properties also scores low on scam advisor ("owner is using a service to hide their identity, high number of suspicious websites on the server, registrar has a high % of spammers and fraud sites, website is (very) young, website appears to be hosted by a company with a bad reputation", all according to https://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/51west.properties...)Trust your instincts. 

It’s a bit of a tangled web, but if you need more info on it, do your research first, and then you can contact me to help you sort out the current rules. 3) The tax benefits are severely hampered if you there is any money from your original property that doesn’t get spent on the replacement property, so it’s best to purchase a more expensive one to avoid losing those benefits.4) It is imperative that you do not receive any money directly from the sale of the original investment property.

Reputation and referrals matter.I invest out of state, and I’ve been burned by bad contractors before—it’s a fast way to lose money.

I learned the hard way that going with Moen/Delta/American Standard, well known reputable brands for showers & faucets.

I’m having issues with them as they’ve grown & only worried about their  reputation & anyway to make extra money.