The FTC enforces CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS. 

It's a sign of a healthy market evolution.

My answer for consumer clients is different. 

If passive, consuming content and talking to people in the space and getting your money ready may be all you need to do.

Ive owned it for 7 years and have healthy equity in it.

The biggest time consumer would be your apartment building, but that is being managed by a PM.

I won't go into much detail, but I do have a decent athletic scholarship that saves a healthy chunk of money for myself.

If it ends up being an expensive or time-consuming repair, you may be able to get bids and have the seller escrow 1.5x or of the bid cost to do the work post-close with a signed agreement and lender approval.  

According to Experian "78% of U.S. consumers' FICO® Scores are higher than 620." 620 is objectively a very bad credit score with a high probability of delinquency.For my rentals, 700 is the minimum and any applicant with lower credit score will need someone else to serve as a personal guarantor.

if you intend to live in it, there are strict ATR rules for consumer loans. this means the lender will have to qualify you with income one way or another. if self-employed, you have a few options that will eliminate the need for tax returns.