either through a FSBO or Broker?

Jeff I do not consider myself a heavy hitter at all.Currently i have 5 quads for a total of 20 units but I am always looking for more under the right terms FOR ME.I am currently looking at 20 to 30 more units in my same development to purchase.I have an onsite maintenance man and property manager.I am a commercial real estate broker so my day consist of talking to clients and closing my commercial deals and then having reviews with my property manager of where everything is at and how it is going.My properties are value add deals whereby with work we are creating a large amount of forced equity into the project.So my highest dollars per hour is writing contracts and doing deals and talking to clients and working my own investments for myself.Anything else I try to delegate out to workers that make less per hour average then I do.good luck

Would a broker class help me to be more knowledgeable in this field?

On the other hand, talk with your broker for ideas or contact other agents in your area for advice.

It's possible there is a negotiator in the middle, but if there is, he hasn't been mentioned.This property actually wasn't on the main Atlanta MLS (there are two here and some brokers are too cheap to pay for both), which I guess is why everyone was excited when we made the offer on the last possible day and why the bank is being more negotiable.

I live in NJ, the property is in PA where I'm originally from, so 30% down is a requirement on < 3 units, according to brokers here.

Again it could be a reasonable cost depending on what all they had to do.There are multiple issues here.1.Most of the items mentioned for repair should have shown up on an inspection of the property PRIOR to purchasing.In my mind if you didn't get a inspection from a 3RD party inspector not affiliated with the company selling you the property then these repairs are on you for not doing due diligence.2.The other component is that this property manager has their own crew.I don't like that one but and would never agree to it.Sometimes managers also get referral fees for giving business to skilled trades even if they don't have their own crew.The problem becomes then instead of getting the best rate they have to pad it a little to give back to the property manager for the referral.So either way I am sure the property manager is reaping a benefit monetarily from it.This way they make more than the lousy 50 to 60 bucks a month managing a property.This is why I am not a fan of "one off houses" in an area far away from where I live.This is why I like owning apartment buildings.I can find a full time highly trained manager easily and they use systems and programs to control cost and everything is documented.Since they only focus on management and are not a broker/agent doing transactions and then handling "rentals on the side" my properties get the focus they need to be ran properly.It just sounds like you purchased wrong and then on top of that have a property manager padding fees with the repairs.REO agents used to do this with banks.They wouldn't make much commission on selling the little dumpy houses so would have their company do the trashout,re-key,repairs and charge full market for it.Eventually the banks caught on and choosed their own company to perform tasks and only let the broker list the property for sale.Sometimes that works and other times it doesn't as the broker or manager is now dealing with outside parties they can't control saying work was completed properly and it wasn't.If you haven't had an inspection of the property I would do it now to see what all else might come up in the future so you can expect it and plan for it.

I also know people who have an agent/broker do it & some who do it themselves.

If you don't have time to look for deals all day look, reach out to local brokers and tell them what your buying criteria is.

U can use loopnet to get the agents contact info,also use cl,get in touch with investment brokers in your area theyll lead u the way,landlords as well