No Personal Use: You or family members cannot live in or personally use the property.2.

Quote from @Jeff Sanders: Personally coming from an agent/investor in CA, I always get a quote from a broker of mine and make sure I am knowledgeable with the fees/costs.

Apparently, the person I am under contract with was managing the estate of the actual owner who recently died.  

Not sure if they have upgraded to desktop appraisals but if they are still doing in person appraisals , make sure you get everything (scope of work, good faith deposit, social, LLC docs, insurance, proof of prior experience, financial statements) in ASAP.

In person is better than over the phone if possible, as I have been told by annoyed or lazy clerks "NO STR allowed" as that was the easy button to get me off the phone, or if they are anti STR. 

Are you interested in S8 because of a personal reason or you think it's the next "hot" investment idea?

So it's just personal preference and budget for a host.

I would spend money to enhance and update to current standards the search functionality and person to person tagging so it's easier to find stuff.

The northland MAREI meeting and the main monthly meeting at MAREI have a minimal fee, or for $99 a year you can attend all of them for no extra charge - northland is in person, the main meeting is still online, both are great ways to connect and learn. 

Questions they will have is who is the owner, what experience do they have, is their key person insurance against them etc.