Many of these markets are very well represented by sellers & turnkey operators here on BiggerPockets.

If not your friend or your friend's next of kin, will have to petition the court, depending on which of the 58 counties in CA, to represent the decedent's estate as PR..

I work with and represent alot of private/hard money lenders, and unfortunately i am seeing more and more stories of people who have given supposed "lenders" application/lock fees anywhere from 5-15k and the "lender" simply walked away with their money. 

I was the real estate agent that represented our group.

I was the real estate agent that represented our group.

after looking at my numbers again after Ming's comment I think my revenue assumption was too aggressive) and King West (probably representative of a typical downtown condo in Fin district and Entertainment district) for comparison purposes, and those numbers came out to around mid/low-teens on a compounded basis over a 5 year period with 3% appreciation applied, 20% down, LTTs /closing costs captured, 30 yr amort and 2.74% interest rate, 3% rent growth and 2% cost growth. 

I work with and represent alot of private/hard money lenders, and unfortunately i am seeing more and more stories of people who have given supposed "lenders" application/lock fees anywhere from 5-15k and the "lender" simply walked away with their money.

@Stephanie SicardYou want a realtor that represents (your) best interests.

Many of these markets are very well represented by sellers & turnkey operators here on BiggerPockets.

I did just pass my brokers exam and a looking for a firm to work with so being able to represent myself as the buyer will hopefully allow me to leverage my agent status to my advantage.