The property went into contract for $3M while still under COVID restrictions.

I work in WA, not IL.Sounds like similar facts - you need to be licensed if you are going to manage other folks' property.Here, you need to hang your license under a managing broker until you can get your managing brokers license, as brokers can't touch money and do a few other things legally.If it's like WA, you will have to hang your license under a managing broker at a brokerage, and coordinate deposits, contracts, fees with them.If that is the case, ask some brokerages that will allow you to hang your license under them for minimal fees in order to be compliant.

Check the contract.

I'd love to utilize their expertise when assessing a property since they are local but I'm not sure what the general expectation is when I don't have a tangible property and I have not entered into contract to work with them yet.Some questions I have are: local regulations/permitting timeline, property's potential from their perspective, landscaping/amenities cost estimate (they also help facilitate this).

Wow police that's outrageous. what we do in Orygun is flaggers are all women owned business's and that's how the contractors are able to maneuver city state contracts that require a certain amount of minority owned business. 

I have a good agent I've worked with for years and letting him represent me not only gives me the advantage of additional counsel, it also gives me someone else to do the heavy lifting so I can concentrate on the deals themselves rather than the intricacies of the actual contract, the process of moving everything through closing and all the hiccups that often come with investment properties.

(I didn’t want to take any chances, so I didn’t sell until I had both identified and actually gone to contract on a purchase.

Seller Financing Available via Contract for Deed Agreement2.

In many states, approved sales contracts are available for free online (you'll have to learn how to fill them out or pay a lawyer to do it, recommended to at least have a lawyer review).

Now, if the deal is so sweet that someone may want to step into your shoes prior to closing for a large fee, make the contract including the seller financing terms freely assignable and ironclad.Good luck.