If any cash buyers are interested in a great deal in Rock Hill, SC right near the Catawba Indian Nation Reservation, let me know ASAP! 

Once you have that license to be considered a realtor you have to be in the National, State and local board of realtors.

I work full time too as a National Account Manager for a distribution company, but looking to replace my income and work on Real Estate investing full time.

While some institutions might sometimes say that they do provide self-directed accounts, their definition of 'self-directed' is quite different, which means that you can direct your funds only in investments that are offered by them.

With offices in Birmingham, Montgomery, Pell City, Auburn, and Alexander City, Aliant provides the feel and personal service of a hometown lender, but with national-level capabilities.

And you can even pick the ncaa national champion in the comments...most importantly, you may or may not know, chad is a BP member and you can even message him ( he is in the comments on the  aforementioned interview, too).

I've spoken to a few realtor friends of mine that say that while it's perfectly legal in the eyes of the law, institutions frown on it.

That will determine the actual elevation of the house and will likely get a better rate than the neighborhood rate (not always).Second, they recently changed the national flood insurance so that you can change your deductible as @Perry Ivy stated.  

Luckily, you have found a great community of other real estate professionals, reference resources and more learning material than you probably want at this point.With regards to obtaining a real estate license, the required education to be eligible to sit for the exam can range from $600 - $1k depending on the institution.  

Once you prove that a local lender will give you money, I think it is easier to have out-of-town institutions fund your future cash-outs.