An easy way to understand the whole process, as explained to me by a bank asset manager is as such.Pretend I found a like for like house in Atlanta for $200K versus in Newport Beach for $1.5m.

An independent may be the way to go versus the name brand firms but not sure.

The borrower likely has no track record and is moving from residential to 5+ units, the sellers tend to keep poor books as they manage themselves with those few units, at a 10 unit level you really can't land a professional multifamily PM company as it's not worth their time versus larger buildings.

As someone who just moved to Seattle from Minnesota, I'm amazed at the difficulty in getting reasonable rental rates (versus purchase price). 

So they have to have incoming skillsets versus I build someone up from scratch.So I expect a lot for what I pay and if not I just will not hire anyone.

What are the differences in what an unlicensed investor does versus a licensed agent?

It's a crazy scenario but if you have no skin in the game there is nothing really tying you to the property other than a perceived future profit, which may or may not come to pass.Now, having said that, after a few deals are under your belt with that lender I bet things could change to better suit your needs :)Regards, Lenny

When it comes to finding the value of a property, what are the biggest differences between using comps on the MLS versus looking at the “similar properties” page on the county assessor’s website that shows recent sales in the neighborhood?

Check for rental rates versus price/COA fees, rental restrictions, etc. 

I'd bet there are improvements that you could for 1-2k (or less) that will make it nice.