Definitely price is the major factor, but location relative to OC is important for me as well.  1.5 hr drive ain't bad for an investment property if anything goes wrong. 

What I have seen most Loan Officers do is split marketing costs, but you can't pay more since that could also be considered a kickback.I have also seen companies have realtor's get licensed as an MLO while they handle most of the transaction for them and pay them a cut since they will be the MLO and Realtor on the loan. 

@Audrey BlotzYou might call a title company to see if they have any thoughts about searching property records for homes w/ ADUs.

If you can become friends with someone with a license who looks at dumps, they would love company on some of those trips and a potential client as you learn.

Let me know if you want a connection to the company who recently built a pool at one of my STRs, JAM Pools.

Any "ward" in Houston should get some questions going, but majority of Houston based agents will push this ad nauseum especially the one's on here and have been the better part of the last 2 years. 3rd ward for MTRs, STRs, and travel nurses and 5th ward for fix & flips; but only an idiot would buy a 5th ward property without doing their diligence.

I run a PM company in central CT.  

I think land lording has taught me that the sad truth is that the majority of people are terrible and dishonest communicators.

I'm also trying to keep my eyes peeled for properties that require some rehab (kitchen/bath/flooring/etc).. not major projects.Details: -I have set aside $350k of expendable cash, and I'd like to leverage this. 

There are issues in the realty industry...primarily the fact that the barrier of entry is so incredibly low to get a license and the vast majority of agents don't hone their crafts.