Both @Joshua Dorkin and @Brandon Turner along with every BP podcast highly suggest it and, while I'm a newby, the reasons all seem to make perfect sense: Avoid bugging an agent to write offers, access to the MLS, potentially saving a commission and having the ability to give my commission away to the listing agent to help encourage getting things doneCan an Illinois agent see the Michigan MLS & vice versa?

Assuage (and at times massage) your wife of REI.

When you saw the same deal from three different wholesalers, it was perfectly reasonable at that point to ask each of them to provide a copy of an executed contract.  

Our best workers become part of our "team" and we let them know we value them by speaking highly of them, complementing their work, and treating them to lunch, or tickets to a show, or even paying for a professional massage or trip to the dentist from time to time.

I happened to read this at the perfect time. 

When the shower runs, it drains perfect fine.Initially, I thought it was just something leftover from the construction and it would clean itself out. 

Perfectly said!

Five sets of loan docs to sign, I strongly suggest you bring coffee to the closing table, and some sort of hand massaging device as well!

I have the perfect lawyer for you to do a land trust with.

Try to talk to some lending programs, there are a lot of aggressive lenders here on BP, but for 130k and your income in CA, I don't think it is hard for you to get one, maybe bring someone with almost perfect credit score and you might hit the jackpot.