I would definitely be a bit nervous working with an out of state company myself...super important to do careful research to ensure they are legit and established like you said. 

It is always a gamble you take on any offer you accept.BUT -- to reduce your chances of the buyer not qualifying for a loan, ask to have the buyer cross-qualified by a lender you know, like and trust.

I have a fairly established rehabbing/wholesaling business (done about 115 deals since 2010), and am considering bringing on my best friend from college into the business with me to help me scale and start a Brokerage business.

Yes, you might get a quick hit from some national lender but you'll be better off in the long run establishing a relationship with a good local bank - one with real people who will get to know you personally and grow right along with you.

It's a gamble as some can be damaged but it's usually a good deal.2.

We'd also like to meet with hard money lenders and bankers to establish local financing relationships. 

According to Anthony Ascuitto the developerCons: it’s new and not established.

An entity should be formed - LLC or C Corp. in which each has equity - the Operating agreement establishes who gets what, how and when.I prefer a C Corp. as that makes it easy to take profits as Capital Gains instead of Income, and you position can be sold by exchange of share.

The rental stage is much easier.To lower our stress, we limited our search region, hired a property manager, focused on nice areas with good tenants, did high quality fixes to last longer and lessen repairs, and established a relationship with a lender to simplify the mortgage process.

I do know however that corporate landlords don't file forms saying they want to move into a tenant's unit as a way of evicting them for fear that the established path for nonpayment of rent does not work.