You can share your goals and if you find someone that matches your style and goals, you can hook up and shadow them or assist them.

The point of this qualifying title distinction is to "protect" unsophisticated investors from getting into investments that they don't understand and parting with money that they can't afford to lose.

I was "matched" through my lender with a RA but on our second conversation I was asked to sign an exclusive agreement.

I would recommend that you first run the numbers and if it matches your investing criteria then you should do the walk over with your agent.

You'll want to raise the rent annually to match current market rates.

Run the numbers and see if they match your criteria. 

What if I can't get my replacement cabinets to match the originals (3 years old) or my floors to match the original?

In order to match homes with renters, I often do quite a bit of cold calling to talk about executive leasing.

Would that be that if he got a higher offer than mine, I could either match it or he could get out of the three-day tie-up?

@Ronald Filian  Info matches what I have found for commercial loans that I have looked into (but never applied for).