I attended the 2hr event then paid for the 3 day deal. 

I literally have to cut and paste my ad (along with my pre-screening questions) into a response to these quasi-automated inquiries.   

I can't understand how the state can get away with charging me inheritance tax on a house that I not only didn't inherit but paid for. 

Make sure that you are accounting for all expenses.... vacancy and maintenance, and are there any landlord paid utilities?

We did a 5% money down.Seller paid all closing cost .

All the agent  wanted to do was get anyone in to get paid.

For example, the preliminary appraisal for one property for which I paid 54k, , is around 67k, according to one lender running comps.

Couldn't do 1st, last, and security so I structured for it to be paid over the first 3 months.

So, they will want to know that you are serious and in it for the long haul before they start giving you equity in the deal.Honestly, if I was in your position as a new investor with no experience who found an experienced investor to partner with, I would be less focused on how much money I will get paid in the short-term and more so on how I will use the experience I gain to make exponentially more $ in the future. 

Sometimes they can get a little uppity about this and push back (somewhat rightfully so depending on how they're getting paid).