I recently bid a 5 unit and the pricing scale that was used with 3 different national estimators we use as consultants was so low they warned us but we are comfortable with our market and costs. 

I am sure you know the area better, so I would love to hear your thoughts on the difference between there and northern Westland.

Agent gets paid from the net proceeds unless the seller is unwilling to pay the buyer agent fee/commission, which in this case you do not have an agent; that agent would ask (if they were representing you) for the buyer/you to pay them their commission from a buyer broker agreement (if the seller was not paying commission).So it's the same difference, the seller will pay it (2%), and the agent will not come out of pocket for it.

In other words: different people will answer it differently.

This is the difference between the loan amount and the purchase price. 

Different street 

The PM rate in every area is different, in my experience, some are low percentage and low quality and then there are some that have high percentage and low quality.

Knoxville specifically has some rules regarding STR in the city limits, county is a different set of rules (little more lax). 

I’m still exploring different areas, but I’ve driven around and looked at properties near Grove Park, Westside Park, and Decatur.

I often require a different security deposit.