It's not that I've never met a competent buyer's agent, it's that I believe that the service they provide doesn't match what they cost, especially in this day and age where all the neighborhood metrics, comps, etc can all be found online.In terms of getting a license, I have a day job that consumes most of my time. 

I had one across the street from my own house and I was lucky enough to have awesome neighbors that didn't mind at all, however, I didn't mention to many people that I ran str's because I didn't want to hear all of the terrible things I was doing to rip this city apart.

We have several great tenants over the years who don't pay their water/sewer bills on time but they do pay the next month or two with the small late fee so I don't ever mention it.

And @Tim Koger thanks for the mention.  

Like I mentioned above, if a lender is asking for fees up front (especially large ones) without having funded anything, then you should let common sense take over and walk away.

Are you 19, 45, or 71 years of age?

From the city guys coming out the guys doing the work for me. picked up two more opportunities in the same neighborhood as they felt I should make offers on the houses because the owners are being fined but not pulling permits and doing Shady work.II had an ex partner I used to tell him he'd step over a dollar to pick up a nickel busy try to cut corners. in this business it's very easy to do the right thing pull a permit do the right correct work and it'll pay off in the long run. in this situation before I would close on the unit the gentleman mentioned above I would call the city inspectors and get their opinions on things now it might even help you be able to lower the purchase price.

In brief discussion with friend he mentioned the tenants offering a $300K down payment, he did not mention if they talked sale price.  

He who works longest and last receives the biggest portion.About me:I am a father of five who is just venturing into the realm of entrepreneurial real estate at age 30.

This guy new exactly what he was doing and how to do it flawlessly.Sucks that in todays times we cant just trust someone to do what they say.With that said all of the ways to avoid this in the future have been mentioned in the previous posts.