There's ways to do this in the beginning at a lower cost but there's always an investment. 

And in REI, they aren't just buying a house they might live in for 20 years and not need another transaction until then.

As elections get closer we will likely see consumer confidence start to become more uncertain due to the political climate and then resume again after elections are finalized.ibuyers and hedge funds are also ramping up acquisitions which is further pushing demand and lack of affordability.If/when the Feds do lower rates we will see a temporary improvement in affordability, however we do expect that small window to close quickly as lower rates will bring a lot of pent up demand back into the market which will push home values higher and cause affordability to worsen.With all factors considered here in the local Las Vegas and Henderson market we are encouraging buyers to buy sooner rather than later while they can get lower prices and seller concessions and then if needed refi later when rates come down and they have more equity.

Generally how it works is if commission is 100k and 3 people on a team then 50k goes to brokerage, about 27k goes to senior broker,15k goes to middle broker,  then 8k to junior broker.As you can see they have to do a lot of volume to equal what I make in one transaction so they tend not to want to deal with unknown buyers but feel more comfortable working with a broker on the other end.

You can increase your NOI by either increasing revenue or lower expenses.

You also lower your own cost of living so you can invest more.Rehabs are nice as well because you have a lot of value add work at the beginning which allows you to develop equity more quickly.Strategies like rent by the room, and short and medium term rentals can generate higher returns.Ultimate you probably want to combine all these strategies, at least in the beginning, to supercharge your initial returns before moving to a more sustainable model.

Maybe they completed that deal a few years when rates were lower.

If two parties are fully informed beforehand about the risks of a transaction, and both wish to proceed given the risks, what is unethical about that?  

I too live in the Lower Bucks County area.  

Otherwise, its just another transaction.