They help you grow your investment portfolio, by maintaining the asset, protecting the downside by placing good tenants, and help you analyze new properties. 

It won’t be privacy, it won’t be asset protection.

Credit cards offer a lot of protections for the user, but that doesn't mean they are allowed to commit fraud with them.

As Jay mentioned they must be NMLS licensed if owner occupant of in several states even commercial needs licensing.The NMLS is like the database, each state has a division of banking that oversees lending requirements then you also on the federal level have CFPB as well as consumer protection laws.I want to add that I believe yesterday the CFPB is undergoing changes, but if it goes away that does not mean that many of the laws in place especially consumer protection laws would go away. 

I've heard there's a good chance the mortgage company won't care as long as the payments continue to be made on time but I still want to protect myself just in case.

You could restructure the contract to increase your protection, but the seller won't like that.

We have a 14-page management contract that we've added our real experiences to over the years, with the intent of protecting both us AND the landlord.

But any improvements are at your risk.. the redeeming party just owes you your cash plus in our state 9% and any VERIFIABLE expenses you paid to protect the asset.

They are not secured investments and you have very little protection outside of out right fraud laws.

Don't ever think that the relationship will protect you.