The real philosophy behind asking questions is not only to obtain answers to those mysteries lurking in the back of our minds, but it also serves as a way to "interview" these local experts.

It is typical, but my guess is that they want to be sure you have no "undesirable" criminal offenses; selling drugs, murder and the like, and also to be sure that you can afford the regular HOA fees.  

The building was demolished by the city of Chicago after mysteriously being set on fire and my dad had to pay them off.

But my second deal would not be as much as mystery that it is now.I have already indicated to my seller that I will be making money from this deal and she is OK with it.

After reviewing my post I realize I murdered the "Real Estate Course" lol.

There's a few problems with this - first is that the lender will want to know where the mysterious $10K came from and assuming you tell the truth, they will make your friend sign a letter to the effect of "Tia never has to repay this money it is 100% a gift".If he's comfortable doing that, then he obviously trusts you because as soon as he signs that document you have no legal obligation to ever repay.As for the terms - why would you want to buy a duplex and only essentially "own" one unit?

You're always going to have theft and domestic assault, but hopefully no rape, murder, etc.

After the recent murder of a real estate agent, this guy may be on to something... 

Crowdfunding debt deals is simply Hardmoney lending with multiple beneficiaries no big mystery to it.

If they lose a job, or get a divorce or have a medical problem, they don't have a large 401k or IRA or home equity or stocks or bonds to help prop them up.If someone in Indian Hill (most wealthy area of Cincinnati) goes into foreclosure, it is usually in a blaze of glory because these people will normally have the necessary resources to weather a financial storm.What is still a bit of a mystery is why the foreclosures are so clumped in certain small areas or even on just certain streets.