They can make sure you don't do anything dumb (illegal) and are cheaper than an agent.Still, if I were you, I would buy one or two houses WITH an agent first.

An attorney would be a better person to ask than an agent, However an agent may be able to speak from experience whether they have seen it be an issue or not.

Now, some banks still take longer than an investor will believe is reasonable to respond to an offer, but most of them have gotten it down to 2 weeks or less.

They will pay premiums in good season, much more than an investor attached to a spreadsheet (which I aim to be, myself). 

@Shawn Couch I agree with the others on this thread that upfront fees other than an appraisal is a red flag.You can start a thread in the forum "ask about a real estate company" to see if anyone else has done business with them. 

Also, the rent is usually less than a SFR but the same or a little more than an apartment.One of our duplexes has a firewall and separate utilities, so although both units are currently deeded together, we have the option of separating them and selling them off individually in the future if we wanted to.

However I was able to find two houses less than an hour away that can cash flow even with more expensive type of Commercial Mortgage as I bought them in LLC.

If you find really good deals 40-50 cents on the dollar then its a great way to purchase homes when all other options have been exhausted.

Obviously you work cheaper than an attorney will so limit his/her time to reviews and suggestions instead of devising everything from scratch.

It is not uncommon by the way for investors to walk away. 5 years ago is the 2007 vintage when most markets were at the peak.The investor has a high interest investor loan and a high sales price.Probably was just breaking even hoping for the market to turn.Now that the tenant left a bunch of damage the investor is jumping ship and not pouring anymore money into a bad investment.At the owners age enjoying the last years of their quality of life is more important than an overvalued debt to a bank.