But is an additional 5% really worth the much higher rate that you will be exchanging for that 5% upfront savings worth it?

You have to maintain an LLC precisely in order for it to have any value and frankly few investors have that kind of patience and attention to detail.

@Michael Woodruff  As @Nick C. said, that is exactly the kind of thing that requires a real estate license in Massachusetts.Here are the most relevant parts of the MA law from the link I provided above - the emphasis is mine:''Real estate broker'', hereinafter referred to as broker, any person who for another person and for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration, or with the intention or in the expectation or upon the promise of receiving or collecting a fee, commission or other valuable consideration, does any of the following: sells, exchanges, purchases, rents or leases, or negotiates, or offers, attempts or agrees to negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, rental or leasing of any real estate, or lists or offers, attempts or agrees to list any real estate, or buys or offers to buy, sells or offers to sell or otherwise deals in options on real estate, or advertises or holds himself out as engaged in the business of selling, exchanging, purchasing, renting or leasing real estate, or assists or directs in the procuring of prospects or the negotiation or completion of any agreement or transaction which results or is intended to result in the sale, exchange, purchase, leasing or renting of any real estate.As I said before, there is not a millimeter's worth of wiggle room in there.Right now, I'm working with a young couple who is selling their home here in W.

Try TD Bank, Pen fed Credit Union, US Bank, Summit Credit Union, National Exchange, Port Washington, Newburgh State, Verve Credit Union and Choice Bank. 

It's a trade-off: You're getting zero vacancy in exchange for taking on some additional risk with regards to/out move-in inspections and damages.

In exchange, I did all the work for the listing (photos, listing narrative, etc).

Regardless of the appraisal value ($100k for example), if an agreement is reached to exchange the property at a new price ($80k), the $80k becomes the new value.Now if in one year all the other comparable homes are still $100k, you could get it re-appraised. 

Such plans are configured differently to allow for non-exchange investments such as private lending. 

You give the private lender a note and deed of trust, depending on the state, in exchange for a fixed rate of interest. 

However I don't ask for referrals in exchanged for rent to stay the same.