I'll happily pay the commission and his GC fees, and we'll hopefully do this a few dozen times over the coming years.My general question is: how are other people handling this awkwardness?

This gives you a foundation for making a fair offer.Secure Financing: Be prepared to show you’re a serious buyer with funding lined up, whether through cash, traditional financing, or a creative option like seller financing.Have a Strategy for Repairs or Development: If the property is distressed, outline how you’ll handle improvements to bring it back to productive use.

Quote from @Greg Grisez: How do you handle this one? 

I also notice that @Gregory Schwartz mentioned Huntsville in particular—I definitely think that it’s a strong market for long-term appreciation.As for your concerns about investing out of state, I think an investment strategy that is as close to passive as possible would be best.A do-it-yourself approach—where you acquire a property, place a tenant, interview a bunch of property managers, and handle maintenance yourself—is going to be pretty tough to do remotely.

Where in a standard market rate rental a stain like that could be handled when you get around to it and the rent would still be due.

Did they handle everything after purchase? 

We buy the cabinet hardware in bulk on Amazon and do flush mount hinges, new handles and knobs.

I don't know of any title agency that would handle a closing like that since you wouldn't know the amount of funds needed to bring to the table until the minute you do the signatures....but maybe you can find one. 

- Why would you expect a well-run, profitable PMC to work for free handling maintenance? 

Another one to consider is the FHA 203(b) if the repairs aren’t too major and you’re okay handling some out-of-pocket fixes.