I am new to this site and R/E investing.

But if you think a good picture and a logo on a business card is enough to score you the most favored ‘realtor in town’ position, it may be time to re-think your branding strategy.Why is branding so important, especially to a real estate agent?

Drive Uber, buy cheap stuff on Craigslist and fix it up and re-sell it, learn some basic carpentry and learn to build adirondack chairs and sell them...just brainstorming money making ideas.Get debts paid off, get a basic credit building credit card. 

Are you saying there is no list of mentors with clearly stated what kind of knowledge related to RE business can they offer, prices per what (e.g. per 10 hours of teaching) AND contact email address?

If Jackie were hit with a $10,000 roof repair, he could easily absorb the cost with his savings.

Why don’t you re-run the numbers, assuming you spend the money to fix the floor plan?

I have lived in this area my entire life, and over the past few years have studied the RE market closely for DC and parts of northern VA.

Can a real Estate agent help a friend find a buyer for their house outside of the Broker knowledge, without posting it in the MLS, what are the consequences?

And that's new information to the seller, you can improve your negotiation position because they are then required to disclose to future buyers is my understanding.On to the technical and again I'm brainstorming out loud here....I have ZERO experience with mud jacking as a permanent solution to slab heaving issues - however I would wonder about the feasibility of this as a 'roll the dice' kind of solution (good money vs value trade off) ...if you buy.One possible solution may be to jack the house and repour which I don't know much about how the bottom plates/wood structural would be tied into the slab - but jacking the house and re pouring sections or all of slab would be an incredibly costly endeavor. 

Meaning following all the rules re: tax implications, etc.