You could sign contracts with him that would prevent him from going around you, but then again build the relationship and there should be no reason he's not happy to pay a fee for bringing him the property.Also, keep in mind your fee doesn't have to be huge, or even proportional to the size of the project.

It will be right in the paperwork you sign and doing it anyway may mean your not covered if the place burns down !

I am excited, nervous, determined and frustrated all the time with trying to learn this game.  

They just signed a new contract at the reduced price, thanks everyone!

I know a good baseline in determining your MAO is by using the formula MAO = (ARV x Investor Discount) - Repairs -Closing Cost - Assignment Fee.

Things like that are big in determining if it's a nice area or not.

Bottom line is that I think that it is important to define what you are looking for, determine your own strengths and have all your ducks in a row thinking before you start throwing out numbers in the millions.

I know that time can’t actually be measured and determined, but what can I do to ensure I am making smart moves?

Actually, it means you owe him a commission upon the sale of the property during the term of this contract UNLESS you contract with another broker BEFORE you sign this contract.

There are cheaper properties in the $300K range, but they are in rundown drug-infested areas.The calc I ran for this one was taking into account current rents, which we researched and determined to be a bit low.