Hello All, I'm looking for a legitimate lender who will provide 100% of purchase price as well as construction costs (which will equate or be less than 75% of ARV).

One legitimate reason he wants you to use his guy is so he can get a good idea if you are truly qualified to obtain a mortgage.  

No one would consider a "verbal" offer as legitimate. 

If you don't intend to actually offer services to other individuals as an agent or broker but rather just plan to use it for yourself as an investor, what is the legitimate and respectable way to go about getting access to the MLS?

 legitimate claim, not light image

Up until those facts are proven to be not true, they are indeed facts that were presented to you from a legitimate credit reporting service. 

While I realize that self-delusion is a legitimate strategy used by high achievers, this particular delusion was not to be.

There are many legitimate ways to invest and grow our IRA tax-deferred so you should explore other alternatives. 

@Brandon Crumpton - Great question and @John Thedford summed it up nicely.Yes, it's a double edged sword that enables you to take massive leaps forward and risks or can be utilized to the point where you overextend yourself and then being unable to sleep well at nights.Use leverage wisely and you will benefit from it's advantages positively.

Many people buy a property to be a second home and do Airbnb etc while they are not in the property this is legitimate.