I’d also recommend getting involved in some of the local meetups, there are some good folks and good meetups around SA. 

I was involved in a similar situation and once the broker called and explained to the seller their obligation to pay the commission and that if they payed the buyers agent their percentage, they would still owe the full 6% to her firm per the listing agreement, the sellers understood their obligation and it worked out. 

Owning income real estate directly is one of the many ways of owning income real estate and the way most frequently discussed on BiggerPockets because it involves the most hands-on activity (and when done correctly, probably yields the highest return of all the different ways of doing real estate).

Whats the best advice for finding, funding, and doing deals involving commerical real estate?

Hey BP, been a member here for a few years but never been too involved.

Unfortunately, either way it involves a) trusting a third party, like a syndicator; b) landlording; or c) dealing with a property manager. 

With that size property, you'll have staff to run it so you're not involved in the day by day.

Wanted to get involved in RE last year, but wasn't able to find anything that worked out, so I purchased a SFH so that I could at least stop paying rent. 

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

The reason I ask is we are pitching this model to friends that may want to invest and get involved and I want to build an accurate performa.That being said, do you all have insight on what the original startup cost is for furnishings, small appliances such as coffee machines and first round of consumables (ie coffee, cleaning supplies, toilet paper etc)?