Your construction background covers much.

Your background in Wall Street trading and current work at a property tech startup give you a great foundation for this journey.Starting with a rental property in North Carolina is a smart move.

Unfortunately, on BiggerPockets, you sometimes have to be cautious, as some professionals listed there aren’t always reliable since realtors, lenders, and contractors pay for leads through BP with little background.

As to background and fingerprints, I have no objections at all.

My background is in construction and entitlements. 

Be sure to use a good background check and go through it - I use smartmove but there are a lot of different ones and I think BP has one as well.

do you have a background in, or access to expertise in, permitting and construction? 

But they are getting the advice from people who are either (1) not qualified or experienced enough to rely on their advice (2) biased to some degree, perhaps unintentionally, by their background, business interests, training, etc, or (3) providing advice in a general sense without a thorough understanding of the questioners personal situation or ALL the relevant facts. 

The most important factors a hard money lender will look at, if you don't have experience, is your liquidity and credit score & history (as well as your background -- no liens, judgements, foreclosures, bankruptcies, etc).I would hit up @Michael Cid -- he's a tremendous resource and is a direct lender. 

As a private lender with experience in the industry, I’m here to help you navigate your journey, whether it’s assessing potential properties or securing funding for your investments.With your background as long-time listeners of the podcasts, you already have a solid foundation.