its kind of a trade off because i can get a newer property at a higher price and down payment, or get something older, less down and then use that money to fix what i need to fix. 

I want a specialist that's an expert, and not a jack of all trades and master of none.

The trade-off that I don’t accept is that service would suffer.

I don't require my agents to join NAR and in fact dropped my membership when I opened my own brokerage.If the situation made sense, I wouldn't necessarily require an agent to join MLS, but it's such a basic tool of the trade, I can't imagine someone who is active in the business going without it.

Always trade offs, especially depending on how long that buyer is looking to keep the property, or refinance.

Also, I strongly urge you not to make a habit of going into transaction planning to trade terms based on inspection report findings.

The HML/PMLs generally have more "flexible" or "creative" lending terms (higher LTARVs and longer amort), but the trade off is higher interest rates.

Are you computer literate?

Mostly on trade accounts with local businesses for the materials, some business credit cards, some of the contractors were OK with waiting 30 days for payment. 

Also, more people seem to be choosing trade schools over traditional colleges.