HELOCs are usually tied to the Wall Street Journal Published Prime Rate (some are tied to SOFR).

That way finances don't get tied up in one or two investments.

If you are worried about them not paying, require them to send copies of statements for any utilities that are tied to the property (ie if they don't pay, you have to). 

If you do find someone that makes it a practice to front the licensing $, then they will likely keep a big portion of your commissions and they will have you sign an agreement tying you in for a while.

This week (jobs week), markets have been volatile.Negative news (tending to make bond prices fall; bond yields and mortgage rates rise):A stronger than expected employment report from ADP, including an apparent reacceleration in wage growth for job changers.Commentary from Fed members Raphael Bostic, Loretta Mester, and Neel Kashkari suggesting that there was “no rush” to cut rates unless unemployment rates began to spike.Positive news (tending to make bond prices rise; bond yields and mortgage rates fall):Fed Chairman Jerome Powell saying that — despite the recent “bump” in inflation — rate cuts were still likely this year.Weekly jobless claims came out at 221,000 for the week ending March 30, a bit higher than expectations.As always, everything could change today (Friday) with the release of the BLS jobs report for February.

Make sure you're not tied into large HOA's if the development flounders for a while.7. 

The others are correct that it isn't necessarily enough to buy real estate but there are so many other possibilities for investments that can be tied to real estate, or you can partner with others.Good luck!

It makes our business stronger when we listen and adjust to what the audience is telling us.  

So we thought it would be helpful to spell out just what we look for in a borrower, and what you can do to make your application even stronger.

If the deal turns out to be a loser, you could have one co-bene refusing to sell, tying up the deal in a lawsuit to force a sale.