This decision often comes down to a simple numbers game.

To me, signing a broad exclusivity agreement kills your bubble; you're now cut off from every other agent's network.Of course, it has to be worth the agent's while to bring you a deal over someone else, so try and offer something of value like a finder's fee or, if you're flipping, the right to list the renovated house with the agent. 

The fact of the matter is that real estate is a long game and expenses will come up. 

My end game is to show you a path to financial independence, whether that be at 45 yrs old or 70 yr old.  

I have personally advertised in Realty 411 its a real publication and as I stated  Linda I have know for over a decade personally and I am real I have 50 years in the real estate game..

Spending too much time on analyzing one deal will put you out of the game on too many other ones...

They used that period of unemployment to skip paying student loans and then try to get some kind of program/hardship deferral or something aka "gaming the system".

If appreciation is not there, however, it seems like a potentially long waiting game to see if your $60k investment today returns anything meaningful in the long run. 

Commercial is a totally different ball game than residential, so connecting with a commercial broker will definitely make your life easier.

I guess it’s just a waiting game from here on out.