What are the closest markets where it is still legal?

Much some of the responses below, there are legal implications to consider. 

The language barrier was the most difficult piece in my experience but I also ran into legal issues where the party that defaulted on their contract was connected so there wasn’t much I could do to get what I was owed.

And given that many syndicators that offer paid mentorship cost in the 10s of thousands, I would just be very clear with each group you talk to on what you are needing versus what they actually offer.From the bits I have seen about a lot of people's mentorships (to be clear I have not gone through any), they cover market selection, basic underwriting, some marketing, basic legal compliance items.  

Ideally I keep the relationship with the utility companies and then the tenants pay me their split.My two concerns though are that this is not legal and that tenants wouldn't be willing to do this sort of ad hoc split.

You may need to be a licensed real estate broker/agent to wholesale legally in many jurisdictions7.

I know of no reason why anyone who is here legally would not have a social security number.

In general (not legal advice), in most states you **should** be okay to purchase notes without a license (if the loan was properly originated).

The main challenge was ensuring all financial and legal aspects were handled swiftly, but our established processes and experienced team made this a seamless transaction.

Security deposit amountYou can find plenty of examples by searching for "tenant estoppel certificate doc" or exchanging "doc" with "pdf" for more options.Here is an example and explanation: Sample EstoppelSome have a lot of legal jargon but this document does not need to be so detailed.