They were taxing as a fourplex, but the CO said it was a triplex.I found out when I went to try to refi with the bank.

I wrote letters to owners and found someone willing to make me a great deal.

Hello, I found an investment opportunity... it's a duplex/triplex offering a total of 5 rental units. 

It sounds to me like you've found value in the relationship enough to workout an offer that compensates everyone and doesn't leave you feeling in a weird spot.

Hello Taylor,           I have been in a situation and done deals where a friend is a realtor and although I found the deal, had to go through my friend as I already worked out an arrangement. 

Here in Chicago, we've found some of our best contractors from other good contractors or investors; I've found the in-person meetups yield the best results, so maybe you can take a trip to Maryland? 

Purchase price: $271,000 this is the first property I bought, I put 0% down on this, it cashflows me about $350 a month. this property was a good investment, and I think I got lucky. my real estate agent found this for me as it wasn't being sold on market. truly a gem.

;2. if the email or phone number cannot be found, should she try(i) reaching out on LinkedIn, if she can locate the owner?

Little paint and the contractor I found let me buy the material and only charged me labor.

When I was starting, I found a resource in FF that suggested pricing $300-500 above LTR rates.