@Marinelle Tan , I work with an architect (im a structural engineer) and we've put together a handful of ADU plans.

for me  a handful since early 80s  now in those days I was ONLY buying land that had owner contracts on them. 

There are very few visitors starting mid-October and until around April. 

I started with two remodeling projects and have since completed three new construction projects.

You profit share with them for the first 10 deals (at the higher levels) because they really are right there with you holding your hand, and as I mentioned, doing three way calls, etc. every step of the way.  

But neither do you, yet you started with:"Short answer is "yes"  - which I consider misleading.And you manipulated the OP's question to fit your agenda.

If you're going to start in a market you're eventually going to live in, I think that's a stronger case for that market."

We started with an offer of $1,000, but after some back-and-forth, we reached an agreement at $1,500.

LENDBASE has the following feesConventional:1% origination fee$500 doc fee (est)Title Work TBDAppraisal $2000-$3000Environmental $0-$2000 (depending on search) Which all seem pretty normal, but FIRST they require you pay them up front $4,000.00 to start brokering loans, it’s their "non-refundable engagement fee.”Has anyone ever heard of this ever?

If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general.