Granted I'd love to lock in a rate with a traditional mortgage but I would have had to wait six months to do so.  

This way they can lock in this rate for the new lease.

I would recommend going with a better quality laminate particularly if you are DIY'ing with a click and lock type of product, it will make your life a lot easier.Let me know if you have any other questions.Steve

Phill only owed me for one month, plus option fee, 12k, so no big deal I thought, he would pay me, because he moved all his stuff in my building.But several days later, I received a letter from Pay Pal that funds got cancelled again and my account was 2k negative.Only after 1.5 month I realized that I was dealing with a professional cone artist.I filed for an eviction, he didn't show up in court, we changed the locks, kept all his ''junk'' in my building for 30 days and then I hired movers who removed it for 1k.Damage: lost rent and utilities for 3 months 8k, attorneys and eviction fees 1k, 1k to movers, (potential option fee of 20k), plus my time.I learned a very good lesson, if a tenant or buyer can't provide you with their financials, there is something wrong.

You need MLS access, local association dues (SRCAR) CAR, NAR dues, E&O insurance, lock boxes, SUPRA key access, signs, cards, desk fees (Varies between brokerages) etc.Then you will have a brokerage split for each transaction, say 70/30 for an example. 

If you can lock up a good deal, grab some partners to do the cash and credit.  

I walked from many deals early on because I couldn't see myself closing on it.( My bad)  Is a realtor muck for locking up a property for 6-12 moths?

@Jeff Baillis - I was able to lock in 3.875% for my loan with 25% down.  

The only thing I would say is even if it seems like we're going into scenario #2, DO NOT OVER LEVERAGE because I still think there are some geopolitical issues that make scenario #3 a non-negligible possibility.In that scenario tangible assets like cash flowing real estate are good, but you don't want to lock yourself in to high loan payments in case broader economic malaise makes it hard to find tenants who can pay the rents.So personally I am willing to have fewer pieces on the board, and sacrifice some gains in scenario #2 (another big RE boom), and order to have fewer pieces on the board that are safer due to good cash flow and lower loans-to-value, to protect myself in the less likely scenario of #3 just because #3 could blow a lot of people out of the water and I don't want to be one of them.I agree that seeing so many new "wholesalers" come into the market is worrying and makes me really want to pay attention to group psychology and redouble my efforts to buy sound cash flowing properties where the #s actually make sense.But I don't think we're at a market top at all.

If you've ever had some device that had a bright indicator you ended up covering with tape you'll understand why this does really matter.