So you can say whatever you want, I'll evaluate you on your actions.Trash, nothing less and nothing more.

The sales position is purely commission-based and 1099-related so I have to pay for all of my expenses that otherwise a W2 employee would get which also unfortunately STINKS. 

I would suggest establishing teams in both markets and evaluating which one generates leads that align with your investment criteria.

Agents are not like other employees.

This is not available in smaller cities.You can evaluate all these criteria from anywhere in the world using the internet.

How do you typically evaluate LTV ratios when deciding on funding, and do you have a specific comfort zone in terms of percentage or property type that you prefer to stay within?

Option 2 is missing too many details even for a cursory evaluation.  

Net worth trackers are valuable tools that real estate investors can use to evaluate their financial positions.Your net worth is a value, or dollar amount, that includes all of your assets and liabilities.

What do the county and state laws provide (notice I didn’t ask what county/state employees “say”)?

They don't want to manage another rookie employee, so make sure that you have something to offer them (be a gopher comes to mind, or a transaction coordinator).