What are the best practices for managing the financials of such a varied investment portfolio?

You need to check out the local rules and regulations before you get too ahead of yourself. 

And its too late to back out.. and these loans are not government regulated these lenders do NOT have to divulge this up front and are not penalized if they add things..

A good Agent will be responsible both legally and knowledgeable of what is in the best interest to the buyer, However with the new regulations about to take place it is also important that you discuss the commission side of things with the agent so they can explain the new commission guidelines that are now about to go into place. 

We also use a trust structure to help protect the transaction when needed.I do agree with you that having the dollars to pay off the mortgage if something occurs is best practice. 

Also, with the new beach regulations in Okaloosa County, the beach section where the beach service for Destin West can be set up has been narrowed significantly and the Island Hotel amenities and beach area are no longer available to Destin West guests to use.

Any best practices on collecting past due amounts?

Every state has a unique set of laws and regulations regarding the foreclosure process, so your ability to succeed will depend largely on where you're operating.Also, all three of these require advanced skills and background, so I wouldn't necessarily start here.That said, if you do then be sure to get top-notch training and complete deal documentation from folks who have seen at least one full real estate cycle.Rather than specializing so soon in your real estate career, I would instead recommend just getting in front of as many real estate owners with problems.Just getting really good at talking (and listening!) 

In my real Estate brokerages I have owned 90% women  in lending lots of women loan officers and of course support staff is mainly women.. at The title companies I work with their is maybe one male and 10 to 20 females all the senior escrow officers are women.the only time i see men in the escrow side of things is back east in states that use attorneys to close deals and those are generally all men.. as in the attorney that owns the practice is male and his staff is generally female  Not all but majority of the companies I have closed with back east are like this,

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