(going to sign a lease Tuesday)We only advertised on Facebook (because I was peeved at Zillow's new fee structure and CL is fraught with fraudulent ads).

The FBI, SEC, etc. have dropped the hammer on fraudulent activity since then. 

You hopefully won't lose much in that gamble but that is what all tax liens are, a gamble.

Dont want to gamble it and I intend to access it at 10k downs for low end properties.

Gamble you'll need to consider.

Beyond that... yeah, it's a gamble.

What can you say...people like to eat, shop and party when they get a few bucks in their pocket and, contrary to popular belief, there is much more to do in Las Vegas than gamble.  

Basically I dont think its fraudulent, to re-write offers as long as a blank addendum states that you will be doing so, and the seller signs that form(form 34). so in short, this is why it needs to be done.

A partnership is fine at the start, However, You will really need to call the Texas Secretary of State and verify for yourself, Do not gamble on the Info you get on the internet,  Secondly, You need to safe guard your personal assets, Meaning you need to be at least an LLC, just in case things do not work out, If you are an LLC, and you have financial problems at any point, The LLC will protect you. 

Without that you really have no idea what the tenant is like, so its a big gamble.