I have a condo in Washington DC and water damage from rain somehow leaked into my unit and damaged the floors.  

That's what I expected, as well, but this person was adamant that because the listing agent would get the full commission, instead of half of it, that he or she would be more willing to convince the sellers to accept whatever offer you put on the table. 

All that being said, I encourage you to be transparent in your transactions with your sellers in order to prevent any sort of closing table drama.

I hope to learn how to have a successful, diverse and large portfolio so that one day I will not have to depend on working 9-5 to put food on the table.

They don't want to get in hot water by not complying with someone who will certainly document their claim file with such infractions.Just check references and proper licensing. 

I know this a sensitive topic but I had to bring it to the table. 

With management in place and appropriate holdbacks for cap ex, maintenance, taxes, insurance, water, etc it has cashflow of 900/month even as a pig.  

During the next rain, the roof leaked again (water was dripping through seam of the ceiling and pooling underneath the paint, causing it to bubble).

One tenant took 12 hours to tell me that he had no water in the middle of winter.

Told the guy , have blankets , fill the tub with water , have flashlights . if the electric goes out and it gets cold , open all the faucets to drain down the house .