The upside in rents and the fact that it was being delivered vacant.

Over the year I've had to replace tenants, complete repairs, the normal landlord stuff...and now I am facing, what may be, delivering my first 'Notice to Quit'.Because this is a house hack I've installed a separate washer and dryer hookup (about $2k to have the electric ran and water lines installed) and machine (washer/dryer combo that I bought for $120 from a friend) in the basement for the 1st floor tenants to use since my spouse and I bought our own for our first anniversary together in the property, which is also located in the basement.

The only time they would be involved with any of your funds would be if you get an offer accepted and earnest money is to be delivered... if that is the case, the money always goes to a brokerage trust account, not to an agent. 

Many OOS investors set themselves up for failure because they don't invest the time to ACTUALLY understand:1) The Class of the NEIGHBORHOOD they are buying in - which is relative to the overall area.2) The Class of the PROPERTY they are buying - which is relative to the overall area.3) The Class of the TENANT POOL the Neighborhood & Property will attract - which is relative to the overall area.4) The Class of the CONTRACTORS that will work on their Property, given the Neighborhood location - which is relative to the overall area.5) The Class of the PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES (PMC) that will manage their Property, given the Neighborhood location and the Tenants it will attract - which is relative to the overall area.6) That a Class X NEIGHBORHOOD will have mostly Class X PROPERTIES, which will only attract Class X TENANTS, CONTRACTORS AND PMCs and deliver Class X RESULTS.7) That OOS property Class rankings are often different than the Class ranking of the local market they live.8) Class A is relatively easy to manage, can even be DIY remote managed from another state.

Rents for $900 per month will deliver at closing with or without a tenant. 

We do not over promise & under deliver.

Let them get what they need from where they are used to getting it rather than going to places that they are new to and hope that what you wanted is what actually is delivered. 

When we do a Cost Segregation study, we want it to actually deliver value to our clients.

Even crazier would be loading up someone else's house (it's their house until the closing docs are signed and money delivered) with furniture that you paid for, then having the deal go south and the seller walking off with your furniture. 

You can also ask the question the other way around: which brokerage delivers the most value for my split?