A 'bird dog' is a 'finder'... and while there are clear cases of advertisers overstepping their bounds into brokerage (http://caselaw.findlaw.com/il-court-of-appeals/1546961.html) there are also (many not so clear) cases where a 'finder' is not a broker (http://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/other-courts/2010/2010-20104.html).I would encourage anyone to browse the last link for 'finder' and also to look at the section 'Quality and Quantity of Services', 'Fiduciary Duty', 'Differences in Entitlement to Fee'.

You don’t have to go into personal details — just keep it simple:“I’ve been appointed by the county probate court as conservator for [Mother’s Name].

Understanding that the immediate DC market is exceptionally expensive, I'd encourage you to pick a market within 1-2 hours rather than one thousands of miles away.

I have a great realtor, he has personal investments, gets the biz.

I would encourage you to look here as well. 

are you able to go to Columbus in person to try to meet people, see properties, and build your network? 

A lawyer might be able to argue you encouraged firearm violence with that requirement. 

Best wishes for continued investment success and I encourage you to reach out if I can ever be of service.

At times, I’ve wondered if we’re late to the game, but a recent BP podcast about starting in your 40s gave me a fresh dose of encouragement.

Personally, I started with one rental and waited until I had my systems and local team in place before adding more, and I’ve since grown to 10+ rentals here in Columbus, Ohio, which is a market that makes that scaling easier because you can still find single-family homes in the $120–180K range that hit the 1% rule and cash flow from day one.