Wholesalers (no offense to those in the comments) who are doing this without being a foreign entity are probably co-wholesaling which is on the borderline and practically acting as an agent without a license or getting referral fees by having actual wholesalers on the ground doing deals and they just provide the leads which is different than wholesaling.

Hey @Keagan Scott, so I don't have any insight into Gary, IN but here is a blurb -"Those looking to rent out their properties for less than 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks) will have to get a permit, pay a one-time $150 fee, and have a city business license.

are they asking for up front fees? 

However, it may be prudent to wait until you acquire property in that state to create the LLCs to avoid paying all the necessary filing fees when you have nothing going on yet.  

Additionally, there was no business license registered in the City of Atlanta.Suspicious Communication: The individual identified as Chris Anderson had a heavy foreign accent and provided convincing but dubious claims about the company's legitimacy.Questionable Financial Arrangements: Upon loan approval, the wiring instructions directed the loan fee to a Capital One checking account under the name of a supposed loan facilitator—a 85-year-old woman in Florida.

That’s a huge advantage.Totally agree on property management being a make-or-break factor.

Would the investor have to use an assignment contract between him and new end buyer to collect the mark-up fee aka assignment fee at closing?

If I add up all the lender fees and my holding costs—like points, origination fees, and interest —I can figure out how much profit I’ll make and what my maximum offer should be.

It also matters where the home is located, and what the weather, type of tenants it attracts/has been attracting, etc. other factors are.

To do this, they have a team consisting of an inspector, a makelaar, and renovation professionals.However, as Ken M. mentioned, having someone trustworthy there to manage everything would also be a key factor.