Persistence and patience.Let's dissect this for a second.Lists work SO poorly that, in order to get a deal, you need to send THOUSANDS of mailers to COMPENSATE for the poor performance to get results.So you do, and you get a result.

The lease termination fee needs to be paid at the time they request this, do not substitute the security deposit for this purpose.This will ensure compensation for time, money and effort needed for a tenant turnover, including advertising and showing costs, regular repairs, utilities during vacancy etc.

Second, quite often the builder is the one offering compensation for a buyer broker, so their fee could be covered by the builder and not out of your pocket.

I'm not sure if these high tech salaries will continue, some of them get compensated via RSU (Restricted Stock Units) My suggestions were to house hack (if they're still renting) or within a 2 to 3 hour drive.

My guess is you are a victim of analysis paralysis.

How were they compensated for their time spent on this?

There are the low to $0 compensation up front gigs like being an agent that have high income potential down the road vs. the immediate pay off gig like a job paying $16/hour.

@Brian Burke I'm not a big fan of pref equity in the first place, as common equity investors often aren't compensated for the additional risk.

They get compensated with fees and equity in the deal.

Starting smaller is fine, but the unit has to be spa like or you will likely fall victim to pricing wars or get lost in the booking sites algorithms.