It seems like there could be a conflict of interest (e.g. the agency's investment arm finds the best deals/properties for themselves and pushes properties onto clients that their investment arm has already passed on).Is this an issue or is there something I'm missing that makes the conflict of interest uncommon?

Therein lies an inherent conflict of interest.Just like asking a car salesman if it's a good time to buy a car, a stockbroker if it's a good time to buy stocks, or an insurance professional if it's a good time to buy life insurance or an annuity.I have been overall bearish on new buys in the Smokies for about two years now - I have been warning about a correction since early 2022 on this very forum and was, at least initially, lampooned by the majority. 

I saw a lot of conflicting  information on the Internet about whether condo is a type of RE ownership or just a bunch of units sharing walls.

. :-) Would I still be able to work a 9-5 job though and not have conflicts as a RE?

You do not want to be added as "additional insured" - that will give you coverage, but that will also create a conflict of interest in the case of damage/claim, if the tenant doesn't want to pay, you'll have to sue...yourself.4.

I believe that while there may be other factors, these two items explain the apparrantly conflicting data of strong job reports, but poor sentiment.

The idea is to discourage the small-landlord's practice of nonrenewing leases due to personality conflicts, whether you find the tenant likeable enough, etc.

I'm getting conflicting messages here.

So, there's often a conflict of interest and a smart PMC will look to terminate their management if an owner hire's another agent for a sale.

Just keep in mind that any state or local statutes supersede the lease if they conflict.