I've been on the scavenger hunt trying to find it, county site has a summary only.

By any chance are there any agents on this site from there?

Again, there is a non-disclosure agreement, an arbitration agreement, an agreement not to post on 3rd party sites like this, and for matters to be resolved privately in order to avoid harming anyone's image and goodwill.

If you haven't already, you should research the stats on Furnished Finder to see how many people are looking for a midterm rental, how many units are currently available and the configuration and prices hosts are offering.

Brandon Turner and Scott Trench were gracious hosts when I was a guest!! 

See what the $19k was for first, it may have been neccessary, but still that does not make it ok for them to do it without a signed CO.You can ask an attorney a few questions using sites like Avvo or Rocket for not much $$$.

I found a property on an auction site that I'd like to bid on.

GC in my area cost 10% of the total and I would say that is worth it for what they provide, but if you have the knowledge and willingness to be on the phone with subs (and spend a lot of time on site) you could save that by DIYing it.

We're also starting to scour other forums for possible investments outside the traditional MLS sites, and other areas like upstate NY. 

Does this mean the realtor does not have exclusive rights to sell the property and the owner is probably advertising the same property on one of those by owner sites?