it maybe it may not.. if you get to arguing it in front of a trier of fact then that is the deciding factor whether it is or is not.. and If you whole business model is to tie up and assign which is what 90 plus % of wholesalers do then regulators or trier of fact may deem it a Rouse to circumvent the laws.. 

Investments from friends that would be provided in the form of a loan (similar to #2, but not a SDIRA) - are there any solicitation issues here that would violate securities regulations?

You need to take the time to learn all your state landlord tenant regulations.

All real estate agents log into a subdomain of MLSListings (pro.mlslistings.com) to enter and access listing information.The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR), Santa Clara County Association of Realtors (SCCAOR), and the San Mateo Association of Realtors (SAMCAR) control who has access to enter listing information into the multiple listing service and by setting standards of conduct, regulate real estate agents.

Not a good sign, but very typical for a toppish environment (generally speaking).

If putting down only 3.5% results in you saving so much money that you have an amount large enough to make that saved amount work as another downpayment and you want to and can afford to expand (reserves, manpower etc) and the resulting rate of return offsets the MI cost then that's probably the way to go in the current environment, knowing that interest rates will rise significantly fairly soon.On the other hand, the whole focus on interest rates is something I consider to be secondary for an investor, at least when looking at a spread of maybe 100-150 basis points, i.e. 1-1.5%.

You should also study your state landlord tenant regulations.

Florida has some different regulations around this. 

You need to study your state landlord tenant regulations before you enter into this business to protect yourself and your tenants.

If I thought this was an unsafe environment they would not be there.