Thanks all of you guys for the assistance.

With your background in real estate (STRs and assisted living), commercial MAY make more sense and then if there are any residential deals you can take them as well.

If you are still in the market here, more than happy to hop on a phone call to see how I can assist. 

Let me know how I can assist further!

And ask for there assistance, explain your struggles, trying to "break-in" and get a seat at the table.

However, he asked me to sign a one-year Exclusive Right to Represent agreement, as presented to him by his brokerage.His interpretation is that it applies only when he materially assists me, but I think the boilerplate brokerage language he was given reads much more broadly:"If during the term of this Agreement Buyer enters into a contract for the purchase of Property through the services or efforts of the Broker or Buyer’s Brokerage Firm, or by or through any other persons during the term of this Agreement" (emphasis mine).My concern is that, under my interpretation, if a fellow real estate investor wants to unload a property or if I get pointed to an opportunity by a former agent, colleague, or friend, this agreement could create an obstacle to moving forward with the deal.In the end, I didn’t sign.

Every PM operates differently, and at the end of the day, there is tons of information you can navigate on your own in the beginning stages online, but surely there will be PM's that would be more than happy to assist you on journey. 

Could I request the same assistance as Deborah?

And don’t sleep on local banks or credit unions—they sometimes offer flexible portfolio loans that could work for a deal like this.Since your wife qualifies as a first-time homebuyer, check out any state-specific programs or HUD options for down payment assistance.

The reason you would hire a licensed professional is to assist with you not gettting SCAMMED and help you with negotiating prices and terms...based upon State Law.