I have always kept my market small so that I would have the BEST expertise in a particular area.

As you begin your investing career you are going to meet other investors that will need your expertise.

Making lemonade out of lemons is probably one of the best adages I can think of for learning to be creative and solving problems in real estateif there is a problem with a property or dimension issues you dont always have to go to a contractor to solve the problemcontractors have a certain mindsetand are operating on a specific paradaigmhere are some solutions I have done in the past that have really worked and paid dividendsi had an ejector pump in a bathroom and the space was covered by a makeshift door I decided to have a custom cabinet built that functioned as a trash receptacle and had shelves as well now the unsightly space is home to a beautiful custom cabinet that can be easily removed for servicing the pump when it needs it problem two I bought a house that had front of the shower enclosure removedrather than buy another shower enclosure cost 500.ooi opted to replace the front wall with backer board and tile the front and ended up with a beautiful custom look cost was cheaper than replacing shower enclosure and the look is twice as good problem threewhen i bought my house there was a hole knocked out one of the walls about the size of a  door i suppose thieves came in from the crawl space into this part of the house when it was vacantrather than close in the spacei enlarged the crawls space door poured a concrete floor and created a second exterior doorway to the space making the downstairs ready to become a legal apartment. 

Alright this is my area of expertise....

Some new investors see a dilemma in what I’m proposing.

Additionally, going with a non-local CPA will give you access to a broader pool of CPAs allowing you to find one that has the necessary expertise to serve your needs.If you feel like you must use someone local, contact your state's CPA board and ask for a referral.

I can relate to the experience another poster put in this thread about how some realtors just hang up, or won't respond, and so on when they know you're an investor; at least this one was totally up front with you in disclosing that it's not their focus/expertise - that's exactly what you want to hear / need from your partners in this business!

5-6% to a broker in your case is very inexpensive compared to the exponential expose, expertise, avoiding potential legal issues, holding multiple open houses, quick access to the property, qualifying buyers, potentially avoiding escrow fall out, etc that a GOOD or great agent brings to the table.  

It's hard to say there's a 'best plan', because I feel like each seller is different.I think your best process is:1) Identify their problem2) Try to help them solve itMaybe the problem is repair, taxes, distance, disinterest ... maybe they don't have a problem at all (maybe not great candidates for seller financing).  

Problem Solved: