We do everything, gut-job remodels, new construction, and lots of service repairs for property management companies.

I've never heard of this company before but want to check into it further.

It took the company about 15 yrs of being around and building their portfolio before the two principals of the company were able to remove themselves from all personal guarantees and get to purely non-recourse debt with bad boy carveouts.When looking at MF loans, you can often find non-recourse debt on acquisition financing as low as about $1mm loan balance, even with no real experience (granted, you will need an experienced management company lined up and personal financial statements showing a net worth equal to loan balance, but you are not putting your personal financials at risk like many commercial loans).

Buy or inherit and hold all their lives while working the properties for income.I've seen teachers, firemen, software engineers and all sorts of people utilize both strategies successfully.

I’ve heard people getting title companies to do free ones for them.

The company wins and the agents win.

I'm sure that is true, because most mortgage companies aren't going to go searching for issues when there aren't problems - but in the truest sense of the word this is loan fraud and I'm just not up for it in my portfolio.I did hear from a friend of a friend type that she was able to close a subto with a small local bank somewhere in Georgia (property was also located there) because of a long standing relationship with the bank. 

Are there any good screening companies that screen Canadians?  

Additionally, many loans are tied in with the government and by concealing the transaction from the bank, the insurance company, and the government without full disclosure you might be breaking the law.

Although there is a cost to the investor, REIT's offer liquidity and can provide diversification within your portfolio.Real Estate Funds vs REITsA real estate fund is pretty much another form of a mutual fund, except it is focused on investing in the securities public real estate companies offer.