"Not satisfied," isn't going to cut it.

It's never worth it to cut corners on permitting because it will cost you far more in the long run.

By the sounds of it you are going to have your work cut out for you. 

I invested briefly out of state, and while I made money, I wasted a lot of time chasing returns.

I wouldn’t go as far to say it’s a scam, but the amount they’re taking as a cut is unheard of in the industry. 

The agent will have access to the biggest platform to get the property sold though, the MLS, so forgoing even a cut rate agent will create more of a loss than the agent fees themselves. 

Then, run a rental stress test on the new STR assuming a worst-case scenario—like converting it to a long-term rental with a 30% cut in future rents.

Identify the biggest losses and cut those with as minimal a loss as you can.

There is no short cut. 

So many LOs were preaching mortgage rate cuts, this time around, and now I am seeing rates still the same, if not even slightly higher than what they were a few months ago.