Finally, I would like to get rid of the negative/flat cash flow properties before retirement.Thoughts, comments? 

Depends on Glendora's rules but in LA I'm sure you've heard about the city being more 'lenient' about granny flats and the like. 

After years of rapid growth, the Seattle market is also clearly slowing down (although I don't think we will have a crash, probably flat or slow growth for the next few years). 

There are some that charge a flat $100 per month as well.

These are consistent results over the course of 18 years investing in real estate, across multiple locations, in both buyer and seller markets.But if I contact 10 listing agents, 5 of them won't respond at all, 3 will just flat out say no without talking to the seller, and 2 will promise to present the offer to the seller but I'll never hear from them again.It makes no difference if I do it verbally, written, or do handstands naked outside the real estate office.How do you explain that discrepancy?

For seasonal rentals, is common to pay the property manager a flat fee for 6 month period in advance?

@David Pere I know it may not be a popular opinion but it was incredibly refreshing for someone to flat out mention filtering the agents.

For example, Zillow could make it real easy for someone to go online and list their home for a flat rate, or even adjustable rates with different "marketing plans", and all Zillow needs is "listing specialist" (could even be a program/algorithm) to go over the submitted listings. 

I've even found a house with the original timber pylon still intact and functional.None of these issues are show stoppers just make sure to verify it during your walks and bake it into your offer.

Some have a flat monthly fee, others have many different fees that all add up.