I enjoy spending my free time hiking, hanging with friends and reading.

Yes it can be very problematic , if you hire out lets say the drywall hanging and finishing , and they take an extra 4 days over schedule , this will push the GC"s painter out .Now that painter will have to reschedule , but they are already promised to do a 2 week job in that time frame .

I know it's a year ago, but we've been left hanging!

And hang in there...

Seller decided to back out of the deal (this was a private party transaction, no real estate agents involved) and no longer wants to sell her home.What recourse do I have as a buyer to ensure she isn't going to take a better deal from another investor and leave me hanging?

You shouldn't be hanging back and just playing with the math.

Get a map, Google Earth works but its hard to beat an old fashioned paper map that you can hang up of your local area of interest, your 'farm'.

I'm looking for a broker to hang my license with.

Being a good agent is all about networking, not the name of the company you hang your license with. 

If you were great in high school woodshop, then maybe you can hang cabinets.