Not saying there will be another crash as severe like last time but at some point there will be a downturn and these areas I believe will still be more vulnerable.

Maryland is typically $1,000 EMD (if you have proof of funds or prequalification) at contract execution being held by either Agent or Title Company for conventional sales.

I've struggled to obtain similar titles in my industry because I hadn't led people since I began working in the industry despite getting into the executive level.

I find the property and they do 90% of the work and are buying larger properties.That is different from my other clients where they have lot's of money and might have sold  a business, high level corp executive, doctor,etc. but need help and experience finding a property and purchasing.

Getting involved with notes is a little tricky when you're first starting out... you don't want to get screwed over by diving in and trying to "learn from doing" but then losing money because you're not prepared and don't know how to execute, you don't want to get screwed over by paying $2k for a course that won't give you enough knowledge to be able to start on your own (and gives you info you could probably find for free online), and you don't want to get screwed over by partnering with (i.e. trusting) someone that you really don't know much about. 

As others have mentioned the city might stop you from executing a plan that sounds like a killer value add. 

Without him providing a pay off, even though one could be calculated, and more importantly executing a satisfaction/release of the mtg once it is paid off, you can’t get clear title.

A lot of investors transfer to the LLC (quick claim deed like Bryce noted) or at a later date after closing, and even though the Due on Sale Clause executed in this scenario is rare, we had been hearing more examples of this happening. 

The lease would last 5 years and his downside protection would be if the lease was not executed, I would owe him a fee of $75,000.Getting the rents up to market would be a monthly increase of $3,675, which would result in a valuation increase of $550,000 using my banks' CAP rate. 

The Jefferson County Sheriff never executed the set out, I finally settled with the tenant on 10/15/2018 and paid her $500 to leave and called her an uber to take her to a hotel  because her car got repossessed.