The company would PREFER to not have to do this, so I'm trying to think of a workaround to avoid it.Another option would be to have the seller reduce the purchase price by the commission, but this causes problems for the seller's agent (less of a commission for him, and he's selling the home for under list).

If you have equity in the property you need to deduct a 10% return off the top of the rent as a additional expense otherwise the equity is being wasted.

I work with a lot of different attorneys in the area because I'm a Realtor in addition to being an investor, but John is my attorney.

You then apply the same ratio of debt financing to all allowable deductions to reduce the taxable amount.  

The property would be a good addition to my portfolio but I am not sure how to accurately estimate the value due to the poor record keeping by the owner. 

I probably should also have mentioned that I renovated my own home, completely, including a second floor addition back in 2005.

In addition, a form should be sent to each tenant requesting a list of payments made to the PM for the last three months, at least for the first year

This will reduce the amount you receive.

Obviously I don't consider this a great deal and I have no reason to believe that he will actually pay me the additional $600.

I try to listen to at least two podcast per week in addition to reading the Blog.