It was a CBD, transit oriented development deal, the flavor of the month for institutional owners, so therefore the best course for our group was to package it with the impending new entitlements and sell it to a big player. 

Read or listen to "How to Win and Influence Friends" by Dale Carnegie.

Which one is true and who are the real players?

I have enriched myself with a multitude of material related to my future success, and I'm ready to devote my time into becoming a major player in the Carolinas.

I suggest you do a real offer and stick to one game at a time, seriously negotiate the deal, if you win, great, if not, move on.

However, I still feel that going in through the listing agent is a winning strategy since there are fewer middle men, making turn around much faster.

Of course you don't need 450K a month to live, and of course you probably don't need more than 50-100 cash flowing properties to be content and satisfied with life.But there are those that want more; they are the game players.

Vanguard Index Funds for the Win!

all based on what I'd call win/win proposals.

Some will win , some will lose .