So this is a totally different message ... but aside from that, I wonder whether the notion of us buying properties cheap would be a turn-off to the motivated sellers?

You are probably right Wayne, but the notion that somebody that is 18 yrs old that never graduated high school with a newly minted re license has "superior knowledge" in the eyes of the law over a non-licensee like J Scott or K.

I think the notion of being "under" their license has come up from general conversations of investor using some limited service Mortgage Servicers and talking to others about investing in the asset class.  

The long holding period is not due to the applicant either - so to hold their money during that HOA approval is probably a practice I would avoid; I would try to identify what goes into the HOA approval process and add that to my INITIAL approval process so that I know there is a high likelihood of HOA approval.Now, why was the notion of "getting a holding deposit" introduced (not by you, but in general)?

4) Will obtaining mortgages at similar rates (20% down, 4.65% APR in the current climate) be more of a challenge as our notional real estate portfolio climbs above $5,000,000?

I'd forget the notion of the market altogether in this sense.

It's a ridiculous notion - the house prices here are obscene.

Getting information here is only going to end up creating preconceived notions that may be in conflict with what he may want and will cause tension from the get go. 

The notion that commercial financing is so unfavorable relative to residential is false.  

BUT the courts have historically have tried to protect residential tenants based on the notion that they are just lay people.