(With your stellar reply, you gave me courage. lol) You did a good job of writing a reply that was more realistic than simply cheerleading somebody to push themselves forward to being a guest on podcast faking it till you can make it.

Ended off just simply putting a carpet over it.

They’re simply projecting their own incompetence onto you.

I though this thread was very interesting:"Thank God I had an LLC!!

Thanks guys - my partner does the Brokerage and we were discussing how to address the commission - we are fine paying just debating how to handle the upfront question when the Buyers agent calls about the listing ...My thoughts were to simply state that Seller is fine paying a commission and put it in the offer - and he wants to offer the % upfront ... 

Additionally, as long as you put 20% down, it typically keeps you safe in terms of cash flow, and then you simply have a couple dozen houses with tenants paying off your mortgages.

The question that I'm mulling over is, "Do I step in to fill that need, since I have the property management experience and contacts prior, or do I simply pursue investing and manage my own properties?"

Finally- you can eliminate 95% of the troubles and risk by simply having professional and legal screening and management processes, so don't sleep on that piece. 

just don't do a lease. as others have mentioned, this forces the buyer of the property to take over the lease (if its even allowed/ they qualify) and it certainly does make the property a little tougher to sell. i'm also doing a house hack, and here in CA, its made a world of difference for me. the bulk of our energy usage is in the summer when we want to run the a/c. my bill stays a constant $228/mo (i pocketed the tax credit and simply financed the panels after that grace period). instead of getting an $800 bill in the summer months, we run the a/c at a constant temperature 24/7 on auto, stay comfortable, and i typically get a little bit coming back at the end of the year. don't expect to pocket this "little bit back" by being conservative with your useage, it sort of is a use-it-or-lose-it situation... i think i got $54 back this year.

Sadly there is so little inventory that many are simply trying to last as long as possible and wait for the constable to tell them that the moving trucks are here for them.