I believe DNS does a "secret shopper" kind of thing and sends out people to see if landlords are on the up and up.  

Trust that even though I have not been inside to conduct a thorough inspection and estimate rehab fairly, I will say though that a home that has been vacant for the past 2 years may have quite  some work to be done.  

I have done thousands of searches as an attorney and even recommend my clients to them just because it's more cost effective than paying for my time to conduct title searches.

My immediate question is whether I need a finance license to conduct this transaction.

It's only in conducting this deep dive that you will be almost instantly be able to tell if a property is a good deal or not.

I will be conducting all of my business in New Jersey with the goal of flipping homes to supplement paying down a large rental portfolio.

I recently called a real estate business in Mississauga, Ontario and they told me that I need a joint venture to be able to conduct a transactions individually by myself.

I would be cautious going forward that you do not give the impression of discriminating, as "secret" shoppers sometimes check rental listings for such issues, especially if someone complains. 

It is only illegal if you are wholesaling the property with representations and actually conducting a real estate transaction. 

I've already been charged for an appraisal (last week) but the appraisal has yet to be conducted.