If no realtors are involved you will save even more money and you can negotiate in real time which is much faster.

Between  having no agents involved, and the seller not having to spend more money to remodel, you might be able to get  a good deal. 

If you are looking at a small multi-family of four units or less:Rent RollReview all leases, addendums, or other agreementsTenant payment historyAny violation notices, delinquenciesList of all maintenance in the past yearSchedule of capital improvements in the past 3-5 yearsUtility bill reviewP&L for current year plus the last 1-2Service contracts (landscaping, cleaning, snow removal, etc.)Inventory of all property owned by SellerThere may be more but this is a good start.

Whatever you have left over from your annual rental income after you have paid all the annual expenses for property taxes, hazard insurance, cleaning, maintenance and upkeep, repairs, property management, legal fees, advertising, mailing, postage, HOA fees, etc. is your annual cash flow. 

That business model works well for more static assets (private placements) but is not generally best for investments that are more time-sensitive in nature or involve a lot of transactions (rental real estate, tax liens, etc).There are a smaller number of firms that provide plans offering checkbook control. 

Could I ask how involved was your process of investing, how much did the RE agents help in all the process (finding properties, negotiating price, arranging inspection, paperwork, legal, etc) or was it mostly work you did on your own?

Have them add you as an authorized user to some of their good, clean, long term accounts.

@Ike Ekeh How things go really depends on whether the parcels involved are already incorporated into the relevant municipality's growth plan. 

If it is toxic black mold, the remediation process is very involved.

Pending litigation could have been decided with final judgment entered; perhaps litigation initiated involving the property, lis pendens recorded; federal tax lien could have been recorded... lots of things can happen before settlement.