I'm not saying agents can't or won't, but you'll be hard pressed to find one that will.

Eric, I think you're going to be hard pressed to find someone who's going to say "no, don't get a lawyer".However in my experience it's common in smaller #s of residential units, say up to 10 or 12 units, to use the "standard" (RIAR) multi-family P&S since it does cover the bases for residential rentals.The fact that the financing is "commercial" doesn't necessarily affect the rest of the deal, other than your taking into account different loan terms in your analysis of course.

OK. So we just could not afford our Laguna Hills, CA house anymore. The kids were gone, the electric bill was massive, the neighbors were awful...so we figured we'd rent it out and find something smaller/cheaper to re...

You will be hard pressed to find another multifamily building in this area that is for sale, at a reasonable price and in such good shape.Duplexes in this area and/or the Highlands don't usually look good on paper due to the high comps and low rental income (compared to a larger multifamily).  

If I were you I would keep pressing. 

And what happens when the lockbox fails or someone accidentally walks off with the key?

If you area single member LLC and you don't want to take the time to learn the formalities of running an LLC the answer may be no.I suggest you  check out NOLO Press website and books.

@Andrew Johnson  YUP and I would have held my homes I owned in the bay area that were bought for under 200k each LOL one in palo alto alone would have today given me enough to retire on  LOL.. but you know how it is.I think for those in fly over country were appreciation does not really make many the accidental millionaire like CA or other high priced markets.. its all about doors... if you want to build wealth via real estate.. or its about value add be it flip  or stabilize rental assets... and its a job as well to scale then run your personal empire.

I definitely wouldn’t intentionally want to hurt someone in a stressful or pressing situation.

Do I turn this home into a long term rental and be an "accidental landlord" banking on the lack of single family homes for rent in my area, coupled with the new employers coming in and the central, convenient location of the house?