And as a realtor no one questions your ethics :)Alternatively go get your home inspectors license.  

To be honest, I think it was his confidence and work ethic alone that made him successful.I grew up in suburban CT and found that people were generally friendly, I would imagine that if you are friendly as well, it shouldn't be an issue.

If so, could I ethically characterize $17.5K of my loan as being used for the purchase of Rental-A or is it too late?

These are all mass repetitive "Contained" environments.Now the next great investment will be Auto over the road trucks, Nano Cancer treatments, Nano crop pesticide reduction, Solar electric surface paint generation, Water pumping technology from the Mississippi River to California/Arizona (reverse Dam management(actually don't recommend this, will cause excess salination of the Gulf)), Certified Individualized Student learning platforms, etc. 

That does not qualify for 1031 treatment. 

These are professionals with additional training and a stricter code of ethics.

These are professionals with additional training and a stricter code of ethics.

Local association rules may also consider it an ethics violation, which can lead to fines as well as suspension of license, or referral to HUD for investigation. 

I'm not really sure what agencies to make my complaint that would actually help others from falling to this type of treatment?

These are professionals with additional training and a stricter code of ethics.