Offer a good product; clean, fresh paint, functional and bulletproof.

It Could benefit from a few cosmetic improvements but the layout and the functionality of the property was there. 

Understanding the needs of the person seeking housing, and looking for that, and negotiating, are primary functions of realtors.

Not exactly accurate about title companies.They will sell you a policy and perform escrow closing function however there is no legal statutes to determine who pays.

The benefit I see over Excel are the reporting functions that are already built in to Gnucash.I have structured my real estate accounts to match what is necessary for tax reporting purposes. 

I've been in business as an electrical contractor for about 6 years, i have systems in place for my business so that it can function on its own with out my presents.

I have always relied on visual data in the form of time series charts to make decisions about markets.

Both can burn you if they don't function properly, you can feel the heat from a camp fire and avoid it, but the damage from a microwave may not be felt until the damage has been done, your mistakes can surface later on without realizing what you did wrong. 

Having in-house staff is very expensive and outsourcing this function is difficult because you don't have the resources when you need them in many situations.  

The finish I am doing will be functional but non-fancy.