My main concern is the legality of the purchase option agreements.

I'd suggest Bronchick's course on wholesaling instead. he gets into legal questions that you need to know.

Yes, the expense numbers are bogus - no maintenance, no management, no legal expenses, extremely low vacancy rate, etc, etc, etc.

Canadian guy here (Toronto area) wondering if this business is legal in Canada.

Further to my query about legalities and licencing for collecting finders fee - aside from the courthouses does anyone have any good resources for finding notes in Canada, more specifically in the Toronto/Ontario region?

Legally, it is different.

One of the residents has asked my assistance in getting them help, either from the state or through the legal system.

A lender runs the numbers and realize the investment is solid and they will provide 70% of the purchase price.Now you run inspections, appraisals, legal fees, environmental reports....etc...etc and incur 100k in costs in due diligence.You still need to tie up an equity partner/investor for the remaining 30%.Would you be asking the investors for 300k (the 30% on the $1M purchase) or would you want to ask the investors to cover the 30% + the "load" 100k?

Make sure you consult experienced people like real estate attorneys and CPA's who can research 1031 exchanges and updates that affect them.These transactions are not easy and as you are transferring your old basis of the relinquished property to the replacement property much is riding on your decisions and legal paperwork from the beginning.

I considered legal action but my attorney indicated that it wasn't worth the fight.