If you think every undocumented immigrant came to US to simply provide a better life for their family, I'm afraid you're mistaken.Giving a pass on background checks is opening yourself to ANYONE.

Leaving aside if the JV is the best way to fund and assuming its not a scam than the fee is probably a very wise business move because a large percentage of the deals you see are from people who are delusional or are not taking numerous things into account (delays, closing cost, wrong comps, time, etc.).

Per this NY Times article, the average American knows around 600 people.https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/the-average-american-knows-how-many-people.html#:~:text=The%20average%20American%20knows%20about,do%20you%20know%20named%20Kevin%3FPer the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11.7 time in their life, which based upon an approximate lifespan of 84 years, works out to be about every 7 years.https://www.census.gov/topics/population/migration/guidance/calculating-migration-expectancy.html#:~:text=Using%202007%20ACS%20data%2C%20it,one%20move%20per%20single%20yearSo, if the average American knows 600 people and they each move about every 7 years, that means that the average American knows around 85 people that move in any given year.How many of those moves do you want to be involved in?

They require life insurance  with the bank as beneficiary .

The trick to real estate is not panicking over the downturns and all the things that life throws at us.

In my life outside of real estate, I worked in Information technology where I have participated in the creation of open source software as well as documentation published under creative commons. lots of license thinking to borrow from.It has always felt wrong to attempt to monetize everything associated with real estate investing.

In a wholesale situation, the F.B.I. looks at all parties involved, does not care that you didn't know and can ruin your life for a long time to come.  

A deposit on cheaper ones...I've beeN an Airbnb and HomeAway host on numerous properties for the past 6 years. 

Life is better when you understand your taxes.

This representation is crucial if you're ever audited.Regarding whether to hire a CPA versus just a tax preparer: Real estate tax is highly specialized, with numerous code sections and rules specific to the field.