If you are a potential flipper and will represent both ends of the deal, that changes my personal opinion as the marketing and advertising of those larger agencies comes in to play largely. 

4 signs from different agency on the yard.

I'm in Missouri, and use a non-exclusive agency agreement when appropriate - that means I only get a commission when I find the deal.

Its unfortunate you got taken , small claims court may be an option , I would look into the agency that licenses contractors.  

I talked to a local agency about joining there team if I do decide to get my real estate license and they were concerned with the liability of doing both.

We can probably do about $40,000 for a down payment, and could qualify for around $650k this was just an example they gave.Loan Program Quote5% Down$500,000 purchase price (example)$25,000 downInterest Rate 4%APR: 4.360%Product: Agency Conforming FHLMC 30yr fixed Home Possible AMI > 80%Example Monthly BreakdownPrincipal & Interest: $2,267Insurance: $150Taxes: $677Mortgage Insurance: $170Total: $3265OtherLender Fees: $1,190Appraisal Fees $450Prepaid Interest: $7801yr insurance premium: $1,800Insurance Escrow Reserves: $300Tax escrow reserves: $4,602Title Fees: $1,000Owner's Title Insurance: $2,000Lender's Title Insurance: $1,500Transfer Taxes: $3,750Recording Fees: $168Total: $17,000 (according to the broker we'll get about $10,000 of that back in the first year)Do we need a second opinion or do these numbers sound fair?

I am in the Northern Nevada area both as an investor and an owner of a local insurance agency.

I have put my name in with a couple of real estate agencies and so far only Coldwell Banner Bain has gotten back to me, so if anyone has any advice or recommendations for me on what kind of a business they are or their experiences with them I would be grateful.

Your Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) should be able to help you with this or feel free to contact me directly with questions.

We just opened an account with a collection agency here in a valley and they are requesting that we send them the tenant application in addition to other documents.