By the time it was all over, the court fees, attorney fees ate up the entire EMD and then some --- this seller never intended to sell the house. 

Get a good cap rate basically covers your financing and ideally 20% more for maintanance, prop management fees.

More likely, he is hoping to use the extra time to collect more rents and thus more fees to generate the funds to pay his owner clients:(

You'll want to look at their reviews, how they safeguard your funds, understand what their fees are, and how responsive they will be to your questions (do they work 9-5 only). 

Broker fee on that loan size is usually 2.5-3 points.

Property managers have established vendor relationships and can handle issues quickly.Cons of Hiring a Property Manager❌ Lower Profit Margins – Management fees (typically 8-12% of monthly rent) eat into your cash flow, which can be a dealbreaker if your margins are tight.❌ Less Control Over Tenants & Maintenance – You won’t be as involved in selecting tenants or overseeing repairs, which might lead to decisions you wouldn’t have made yourself.❌ Not All Property Managers Are Great – A bad property manager can neglect your property, overcharge for repairs, or poorly handle tenant relations, leading to unnecessary headaches.Which Option Is Right for You?

Tax structuring and LLC advice you can get for a paid fee too.

Or there can be being a GP in a syndication, where you have, effectively, no money down: source $3mm deal, commit $50k with your LPs, collect 3% acq fee ($90k) without ever funding your $50k... you pocket $40k, and have a $50k interest in the deal. 

Tailor these amounts to the significance of the task; for example:Roofer: $1,000/day (critical to weatherproof the site).Painter or garage door installer: $100–$200/day.Contract Value & Payment Terms:Agreed payment amount (lump sum or itemized costs).Breakdown of payment terms:Deposits.Progress draws.Retainage (if applicable).Scope of Work:Be as detailed as possible.

I’m not sure who paid legal fees but they must have been significant.