I've lurked for a short while but thought it was time to formally put the introduction out.

Although the appraisers were not punished they were formally reprimanded in writing for violating multiple standard rules from USPAP.

Your insurance, your utilities...anything that is a cost while you "hold" the property.Now, formally, you don't HAVE to do anything of that...but it would certainly help a great deal if you did. 

I would first off all register my business through "Brønnøysundregistrene" (The Brønnøysund Registers, formally the Register Unit in Brønnøysund, is a Norwegian state agency subordinate to the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries that runs many of the country's most important registers - Wikipedia) and I would also guess that we will not need a trade licence for home renovation business (but this depends on what your working with, for example if your performing electrical maintenance or electrical installation you need to have a electrician licence to do this).

The people that I’ve met who have long term sustainable real estate investing career have been those who have, through either formal education or “on the fly “ learning became knowledgeable in 1.

Whatever the trade, though, they all have to pull permits on the local level and you can find out a lot about them over the counter at the Building Department (depending on how much info is available without getting to the point that it requires a formal request through the legal dept).Also, if a contractor tells you they did some work at 123 Main Street or any other address, you can look it up at the Building Department and see if they pulled a permit and dig in as deep as they will let you go.The other thing about Building Departments that you need to know is that the regulations may be different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and you need to know what the rules are for the jurisdiction you are working in to avoid getting yourself in trouble.

Money is not the only formal of capital in the equation, trust is just as (if not more) important.

LLC's have the least compliance requirements. no minutes, BOD meetings, even no formal agreement but I strongly suggest using a comprehensive operating agreement.

I've found out that contractors from Nevada, Arizona and Utah are allowed to work in CA without formality as there is a reciprocity deal in place.

Notices and formal documentation were already sent per lease agreement when payment was late as many have stated above.