However, I did a lot of the work myself and/or supervised some young guys.  

Huge cashflow, but some serious potential liability, essentially charging for and supervising underage drinking.

He still earned $2000 for posting an ad on Craigslist...And avoided a seize and desist order for brokering from the Dept of Real Estate (if he is not licensed)See http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/mrec/mrecdodon...An unlicensed person MAY NOT:Prepare promotional materials or ads without the review and approval of licensee and supervising broker.Show property.Answer any questions on listings, title, financing, closing, etc.Discuss or explain a contract, listing, lease, agreement, or other real estate document with anyone outside the brokerage.Be paid on the basis of real estate activity, such as a percentage of commission, or any amount based on listings, sales, etc.Negotiate or agree to any commission, commission split, management fee, or referral fee on behalf of a licensee.Discuss the attributes or amenities of a property, under any circumstances, with a prospective purchaser or lessee.Discuss the terms and conditions of the real property offered for sale or lease with the owner of the property.Collect, receive, or hold deposit monies, rent, other monies, or anything else of value received from the owner or lessee of the real property or from a prospective purchaser or lessee.Provide owners of real property or prospective purchasers or lessees with any advice, recommendations, or suggestions as to the sale, purchase, exchange, or lease of real property to be listed or real property presently available for sale or for lease.Hold himself or herself out in any manner, orally or in writing, as being licensed or affiliated with a particular company or real estate broker as a licensee.Contact the public concerning the availability of real estate brokerage services unless an inquiry about a specific property is immediately referred to a licensee.Elizabeth H.

That is why generic GCs can hire and supervise subcontractors, some GCs self perform and only work themselves and probably a guy or two more to help them.

I won't go into those here.And in Florida and OH and CA, you better be an agent to do them or the Dept of RE, who supervises agents will bring a "cease and desist" letter on your business activity.So, seriously, get licensed and declare you are acting as a principal.But the drill this thing down, if you advertise for a house that has a problem, you have flexibility in your solution.If you are working full time, use a service like www.PatLive.com to live answer the calls.Rules of thumb:If you are licensed:A pretty house with 90% loan-to-value, good school district, that might be a lease to own or subject to or a wrap.A pretty house with 80% loan-to-value, good school district, that might be a listing, a lease to own or subject to or a wrap.A pretty house with 50% or less loan-to-value, good school district, that might be a listing.An ugly house with 50% or less loan-to-value, good landlording area, is a good wholesaling deal.And an ugly house with 80% or more loan-to-value, no equity really, that's a short sale.Don't be a one trick pony, be a transaction engineer. 

Family members of incarcerated individuals will help with payment and a person wants to remain free upon release and will more than likely have supervision.

Would you be willing to attend a class of instruction of 20 hours supervised by the state and pay a fee similar to that of a real estate agent?

Sometimes the putting stuff out has to happen under supervision of sheriff's people.

That repeal Joseph mentioned (see note (1)) called the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (or Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act) coupled with two others, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, and the 2004 institution of the Consolidated Supervised Entities program (CSE) at the SEC.

Your biggest con is that you are operating what can be dangerous equipment in a public area without supervision.