If a deal aligns with your strategy and financial objectives, then it could be a great opportunity regardless of the motivations of the realtor involved.As for advice for a beginner, it sounds like you're already taking proactive steps by planning a trip to scope out neighborhoods and define your buy box area.

What you do with the cash out proceeds would be "invest into additional properties/have operating capital to take advantage of additional opportunities as you are always on the hunt for good deals as an investor".

I get to screen for the most qualified (and nicest) tenants and it makes my job easy and enjoyable.

I am keen on pursuing opportunities to fix and flip properties, leveraging skills and resources to maximize returns on investment.

To leave a legacy that our kids can utilize and then pass on to the grandkids.My day job and career for the last 40 years has been in professional media production and for the last 12 years I've been running my own professional voice over business under my name - Troy W.

Flipping is a good job but its work.

But that said, you have a 3.5% rate lock which is an incredible opportunity.

To have someone willing to give you that kind of money on nothing but "trust" is such an incredible opportunity you owe them everything and they owe you nothing, good deal or bad deal, not that I think this situation would happen again.The unfortunate fact is that you had personal emotion tied with the money.

I was curious if this would severely limit my signing opportunities and make being a signing agent essentially useless. 

I have a lot of money saved up from a sales job, and I am thinking about doing Michael Blank's 1 on 1 mentorship program that guarantees getting a 30-60 unit deal within a year, but the program costs 30k.