But as I began growing interested in real estate as a form of passive income I was advised that credit is akin to a résumé for financial institutions.

Now you'll have leadership on your resume and that will balance out the age.2.

just embellish your resume.  

I already completed my Financial Resume and now working on my Business Plan.

If despite explaining your criteria you keep processing unqualified applicants then (just like if you are an employer and keep getting unsuitable resumes) something you are doing isn't working and I believe one can do better than shrugging because you've charged  a non-refundable fee. 

During this updating process, I have remembered how much I love the coordinating of deals and overall general feel of RE ... so I am scheduling my classes to earn my license here in Texas to resume my former practice,  continue as a rehabber, and prepare for a future as a multi-family property owner. 

I'm sure this can be smoothed out by suspending the original weekly payments until the change order is complete, paying the change order labor and then resuming the original weekly payments.  

If you don't see a real estate heavy resume, what can make you want to give someone a shot at working with you?

I'm putting all that together along with my resume and a list of all my past projects...I get the impression this is as much about networking/selling myself as it is about the numbers.What can I expect them to look for and what answers should I have ready?

If you have ever been a technology hiring manager (and many other hiring managers as well) in the last couple of decades, you have probably experienced the incoming 'stack' of resumes when a position is posted.