Otherwise, I may try to negotiate that the buyer work directly with the seller at my cost and attempt to get the buyer to give me the fee after closing on a gentleman's agreement.

         In addition to throwing all of the numbers into one of the property analysis spreadsheets here, I would get the historical occupancy of this, and similar units, in an attempt to answer your own question with regards to how often it will sit empty.  

I've attempted to set up searches with an investor and what I found was that the deals they wanted to make just didn't make sense from a retail market standpoint.

Youre right; definitely agree in attempting to lock numbers down so I dont get uncomfortable surprises.

At a minimum tell them to document/record everything and show up for any scheduled court dates.As for you, if you have contact info for the owner, attempt to contact them and see what the story is.

Your realtor will likely say things to appeal to pity and attempt to push you into making a deal.

I'd let the agent know your feelings so you can attempt to fix it.   

Just because they’re attorneys doesn’t mean what they say is set in stone- you can and should investigate what they say and attempt to negotiate with them.Conduct reasonable business, be courteous and for goodness sake remember, they are just people too… not Grendels.

As we attempt to access the turnkey market I always try to find some companies that have good reviews that people love to work with! 

If I were you I would attempt to do a few deals on my own or see if you can joint venture with a local investor.