I would like to put "friendly" liens on them as a barrier to fraudulent transfers, which are apparently on the rise. 

Most of these companies are fraudulent (not saying they are) and take advantage of those in distressIf you are behind on your mortgage speak to your mortgage company - we buy defaulted debt and nothing good comes out of ignoring or avoiding the conversation.

Of course, you could also gamble that the tenant won't show up in court and you get a default judgment.

There are others that continue to gamble with floating rate debt.  

Gambling addiction,drug addiction, seems familiar.

Those in earthquake zones who INTENTIONALLY don't have the readily offered coverages for such, ARE THEIVES by NOT insuring with expectation of DEFRAUDING the rest of us to pay for there gamble. 

It’s a gamble, but just looking for ideas from more seasoned real estate minds.

In my opinion investors buy properties with break even or negative cash flow and hope for large appreciation are taking a gamble.

The fact that this sponsor used investor money to gamble on high yield unsecured notes leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  

So a realtor is a big gamble at that point.