The focus I have with free and clear houses is to help the seller understand that if they sell with an agent and paying the costs to sell they will incur commissions, closing costs, sellers concessions, holding costs, etc. adding up to 10 to 15% of the value of the house.

It can be challenging to find these reduced prices as many industry professionals are primarily focused on selling pre-sales due to higher commissions and less work involved.

Does Sam then split his commission with Stephen, who made no mention of being a licensed broker?

If such premises or any part thereof be re-let by the Owner for the unexpired term of said lease, or any part thereof, before presentation of proof of which liquidated damages to any court, commission or tribunal, the amount of rent reserved upon such reletting shall be deemed to be the fair and reasonable rental value for the part or the whole of the premises so re-let during the term of the re-letting.

For bird dogs, I just usually pay them a commission based on sales.

Maybe pay them some commission for each transaction and have them double-check the paperwork with you? 

That $70K - - - - you pay a sales commission and ordinary income tax out of that, right?

Or, you'll find brokerages that don't have any monthly fees and just take a larger portion of your commission. 

Maybe ask for discount on commission fee or even hiring him on as a consultant at an hourly rate?

Since it’s a security, which normally requires registration with the Security Exchange Commission (SEC), most syndicators try to avoid going through the registration process, which is long and expensive.The SEC allows syndicators to “skip” registering their securities if they offer them to accredited investors and use either a Regulation D either 506(b) or 506(c).