Quote from @Stephanie Cruz: This is the first post I clicked on this forum and I felt called out, so I added a photo and a bio.

It’s a gamble, but just looking for ideas from more seasoned real estate minds.

I'm Just starting out on this adventure and I'm looking to learn all i can from this great community. 

I'm sharing this to warn others about Lacey Dickinson and to ask for any advice on how to proceed.here is her pagehttps://www.laceydickinson.com/ Your recover from this, but I’m not so sure about Lacey… I’ve been scammed before, but not that much at once.  

Our realtor has informed us that they will address two lower cost items on the exterior of the home and want to provide us with a cashier's check at closing to address the other three. 

Is this generally a good idea/recommended for a new real estate investor?

Glad you're here to learn about real estate investing.

If you made it this far I want to thank you for your time in reading my post and look forward to future connections. 

Quote from @Winson Zhi Jie Zheng:1.

You can make more if you self manage, but that takes time to set up and there can be a learning curve that costs money.Our agents are well versed in providing full financial breakdowns of every property they look at.