I know this is more of an open-ended discussion than a specific question, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I ended up helping them out since it was turning into a big ordeal.

Also I am highly suspect of a company that would use an endorsement on their hope page of the controversial author Regina Jackson, whose claim to fame is hosting expensive workshops and writing books that claim all white people are racists. 

I would also highly recommend you set some parameters when thinking about working with non-accredited investors or if you are one and want to invest on a large deal. 

I think because it's so competitive to survive in California, and being accustomed to high prices, they view the rest of the country as opportunity. 

I bought vacant land, built a spec home and sold it to an end user.

You could form a month to month lease with a just a days notice to vacate so you could end it as soon as you get your license ready to close, the seller might be open to it.https://www.hostaway.com/blog/rental-arbitrage-joshua-tree/Or, you could continue to list on the seller's Airbnb and you could become a full-access co-host on their account - handle all communication, pricing, etc.

Many investors do end up getting their own license because of this, others don't want the liability and extra work.

DSCR loans go up to 80% of the purchase price and depending on the Debt Service Coverage Ratio and your credit score you can expect rates on a 30 yr loan ranging from High 6%- Mid 8%. 

People who have service dogs (or horses, as these are the only 2 service animals) that are genuine have no issue disclosing that on the front end and can answer the 2 questions easily - is the animal necessary for a disability, and what specific tasks has the dog (or horse, if you're getting one of those) been trained to perform?