Most lenders have seasoning requirements, so you would need to own the property for 12 months to obtain a loan based on appraisal rather than lower of appraisal or purchase price.The longer the period of since property purchase the more likely an appraisal higher than purchase price.The exception may be a "hot" market where prices are moving up sharply almost every day. 

There may also be a requirement to give 30, 60, or 90 day notice before the relationship can be canceled.So your friend may want to consider canceling right before or during a slow period so that they don't have too many existing bookings "owned" by the agent.

If you ask the manager to justify a fee and he starts hemming and hawing, move on or require them to remove the fee.

As I learned that I also learned how to set up business processes that allowed me to very quickly do the manual work required in running a str business easily and for free.

“Abundance mindset” “go-giver” (classic from bob burg books) etc. language is so similar across the “reviews” from these new accounts that it is hard to believe for many reading the threads that the reviews are individuals who have not been coached, invented, or required to leave reviews.- BP community rolls eyes at obvious spam and calls this out.

@Lor Fara Great questions.Regarding Underwriting: That's is a fancy way of saying "running your numbers" (according to your pre-determined returns, criteria, or goal requirements). 

  :)Now, as I move forward, I'm shifting to option 2 for sure, or balancing my portfolio with more of these types of plays. 

That may seem obvious but in my experience, 99% of ongoing maintenance issues are because the property is old and needs either a large cash infusion to make them go away or what I like to do is 1031 exchange into something newer that requires less work. 

Most Hard Money lenders will require a personal guarantee. 

@Kevin Robert- thanks ....1)  getting  strated now is not the best idea as the # of transactions are dramtically  down   2)  part timing  it  isnt a wise idea  either   ...I would recommend  passing your licensing  requirements /  finding an  experienced lender that you can  latch onto as a Jr type LO  or as a loan officer  assistant ...good luck