I would love to JV with someone that has experience in this arena so I can learn the niche or a consultation/mentor fee, whatever is acceptable.

If there is no agreement signed and this person is just someone listed from the broker's database, I do not believe it is acceptable for the broker to collect a split in addition to the house split.If you are to consider negotiating this additional split, there is a lot to take into account here... what is the % of business that you generate on your own vs. how much your broker contributes?

It was more that some people have hard rules about how much return is acceptable and are focused solely on numbers, tax rates etc.  

Unless you're financially prepared to deal with these issues and accept that 'once you know, you must always disclose' defects, I would move on to finding what is truly a good deal - as a good deal is only as good as its bones.  

For a rental in many markets this would be acceptable.

Burdened with a vulnerable and helpless feeling, I agreed to accept ABC Baltimore’s reduced offer of $95k and closed the buy—back with ABC (we still had to pay closing costs).

If a seller listed a home for $100,000 but was willng to sell for $94,000 as that was likely the FMV, it would be the same to him if he accepted $100,000 with a 6% seller credit or $94,000.I looked at the zip codes of lower priced homes in Memphis, Cleveland and Indianapolis and they appeared to perform betterMemphis38105 - Prices were $35,700 in 2016 and now $116,000(220%)38106 - Prices were $21,600 in 2016 and now $60,900(180%)Cleveland44108 - Prices were $34,000 in 2016 and now $59,800(74%)44104 - Prices were $36,300 in 2016 and now $60,400(66%)Indianapolis46201 - Prices were $42,900 in 2016 and now $149,000(247%)46222 - Prices were $39,000 in 2016 and now $127,000(225%)I should mention that I don't invest in Memphis, Cleveland or Indianapolis.

You can also ID potential properties that seller may accept a price 10%+ below their asking price.You should still have my calendar access link in the DM area here, so get on my calendar if you'd like to discuss more:)

The investors accepted it.  3 months later the buyer tried to reduce the purchase price to $2.6M to stiff arm the investors. 

Thankfully it didn't get accepted.