The only way around the banks is to pay all cash, or find a Motivated Seller that will accept Seller Financing.

I am currently stationed in AK and will be getting out in 2017 to finish my bachelors degree at ASU.

I plan to use my schooling, degree in finance & Economics, to closely analyze deals hopefully keeping my portfolio's risk-reward ratio as beneficial as possible.

So I have to either accept that the market has shifted, or else be content with the leftovers that the serious investors have rejected. 

The lack of control over annual costs are a risk that I am not particularly comfortable with.That being said, if you are good with condo investing, I would probably base my decision on the degree of control that buying 8 units in one building gives you. i.e., if it's a small complex and 8 units gives you ~50% control, I would probably go for that.

However, if you're buying a turn-key property and not going for a value-add strategy, I would be wary to accept anything less than 20%. 

That being said, these degrees are not necessary.

I got approved by local bank here for 70% of the purchase price, so I would need to come up with the 30%.I also put an offer on a property and got accepted.

Once the offer is accepted, is there anything else that a realtor would provide that would save us headache?  

Leanne, the requirements for becoming a broker are listed fully here: http://www.dbr.ri.gov/documents/divisions/commlice...Here is a partial excerpt:Minimum requirements needed for consideration:Two-years of full time experience as a Salesperson, validated by a statement under oath from the employing broker, unless you have a Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate, in which case the two year experience requirement will be waived.