My goal is to purchase my first real estate investment property within 1 year.I have a well-paying job, good credit, no consumer debt (just my car, which I'm working to pay off), and I am working on a 20% downpayment + rehab costs.BUT....- I purchased my current home (apartment) 4 years ago.

If they do not pay or stop paying, you would have to foreclose on them which can be time consuming and costly.

They can get time consuming so I understand it.

you can google this   there are 12 states that require state and NMLS registration.off the top of my head.TN  NV  OR  CA  ( in CA you have 3 choices real estate broker license , consumer finance license, MLO with NMLS.)one of the Dakotas i think ..  

Pain in the rear (time consuming) to remediate?

Read books, the forums, watch videos, listen to the BP podcasts, (and other RE/business related ones), work hard, avoid consumer debt, and save money.

Ironically, this particular tumble, unlike previous declines, owes to a very different source than any of its predecessors: a government-induced shutdown aimed at combating a pandemic.

I was leaning away from any big banks as their consumer reviews seem to be consistently bad. 

We have 3 and I would say that we are slowly moving over the hump of time consuming training to a profitable return.

A simple reverse number lookup confirmed such- File a complaint on the friend with the Florida Bar - https://www.floridabar.org/public/consumer/pamphlet012/#:~:text=of%20such%20cases.