Some people like the ego boast of being an author.  

I'm thinking that in this case, I would help him to file probate so he can get the Letters of Administration, which would then give him the necessary 'authority' to enter into contracts and give me 'authorization' etc, etc... but again, I'm not sure what course of action to take here. 

I'm thinking that in this case, I would help him to file probate so he can get the Letters of Administration, which would then give him the necessary 'authority' to enter into contracts and give me 'authorization' etc, etc... but again, I'm not sure what course of action to take here. 

R.C. 4735.18(A) (34) provides that discipline may be imposed on a licensed real estate broker or salesperson for authorizing or permitting a person to act as an agent in the capacity of a broker or salesperson who was not then licensed as a real estate broker or salesperson.

They only recognize owners and/or the legal, authorized representative of an owner so, you can assign all you want.

For example, you can gather all of the property’s public records, operating records and relevant jurisdictional authority regulations, compile the market competition survey, demographics analysis and prepare the pro formas.

How I Turned $1,000 into Five Million in Real Estate in My Spare Time [Paperback]William Nickerson (Author) 

For example, let’s say that a borrower has salary income of $1,800 per month, a Net Renal Loss (from the subject and other properties combined) of $100 per month, and existing non-mortgage liabilities of $750 per month.By taking the Net Rental Loss and reducing the income instead of increasing the liabilities, the DTI is more favorable.Structuring OwnershipWith a Conventional loan, the deed must be recorded in either the personal name of the borrower(s), or in an Inter Vivos REVOCABLE trust, assuming the following conditions are met: The trust must be established by one or more natural persons, solely or jointlyThe primary beneficiary of the trust must be the individual(s) establishing the trustThe trustee(s) must include either:o The individual establishing the trusto An institutional trustee that customarily performs trust functions and is authorized to act as trustee under the laws of the applicable stateThe trustee(s) must have the power to mortgage the security property for the purpose of securing a loan to the party (or parties) who are the borrower(s) under the mortgage or deed of trust notePlease note that FNMA does NOT allow you to close in an LLC or other type of business entity.

Some options are1.) research public records @ your local courthouse to find the loan originator, or who is servicing the loan2.) have the seller provide the statements. either online or by mail3.) have them authorize you to contact their bank. 

Like the author, I agree with much of the attitudes but I have not seen where holding RE long term is a jobs matter beyond the initial rehab,it's not really a jobs producing on-going venture.