We were in the same situation as you, renting in NYC but moved to Rutherford to save money on rent (and get some breathing room finally). 

If I was new I would still have a quality buyer's agent I worked with, but would need the flexibility to offer solo on my own off-market finds.I use a letter of intent (LOI).  

Some agents eat, sleep and breathe real estate.

What about renovating his kitchen or maybe he can hire you as a consultant to teach him rei.I guess it's all about intent.  

We see a number of advantages to this model vs. the traditional turnkey or direct purchase models, including but not limited to: Diversification / reduced volatility – by owning a fraction of hundreds of properties rather than 100% of a few propertiesBetter alignment of incentives with those managing the business – I don’t doubt that everyone has the best intentions, but in a direct ownership / turnkey model the investor makes money over time when no one on the ground is nearly as incentivized as the investor is to make the properties perform, whereas the investor typically pays the bulk of his fees upfront.

But if the tenant did it intentionally, the renter's insurance wouldn't cover it either...right?

i can see myself doing what dawn did as well. of course, my intent would not be to cheat anyone out of a commision, but simply to make the deal work. sometimes the sellers are afraid/anxious/concerned and just a little push (to set their mind at ease) is wwhat's needed.so, no, i dont see a problem if the agents got paid. who said we can't contact the sellers, anyway?

Neither was in terrible shape, but having a beautiful master bath with new bath/shower facilities was a great selling point and made our property look that much better.Yes I agree, utlimately it boils down to what my intent with the property is.  

It sounds like you've been pretty clear with your intentions as you have 3 other properties under contract with the agent already.

The tenant has already been unofficially notified that this is my intent through the real estate agents.