I probably burned $50.00 in gas alone.That's a long way of saying that your agent knows what she is worth and is well within her rights to ask for additional compensation.Of course, you're free to refuse and go work with someone else.

I got burned once by keeping utilities in my name and trusting that the tenant would reimburse me per the lease.  

If you have a short term horizon then you are more susceptible to getting burned no matter the situation.

I want to go the private money route, but although I have people willing to lend I don't want to burn any bridges right out of the gate with my first deal and no track record; incase things don't go according to plan.

I understand it may look like a great opportunity ... the probability of getting burned is, frankly, frightening.

The consultants proposed very different recommendations - one said I should pay them to avoid an arbitration, and the other said I should fire themI know it costs money for arbitration but I also have been burned by their attitude and lack of progressIf it were you would you try to work it out to optimize for money / time to flip the project?

The nice part is that if you can get it to cash flow, even just a little bit, you burn through principal like [insert clever metaphor which I can't think of right now for some reason].

Take this idea and burn it in a dumpster 

In several pictures the ceiling fans seem to be short on bulbs (or maybe they are burned out). 

- What should I look for that has burned you in the past?