If you decide to go that way, there are some very good people on this forum who can give you guidance as to what to ask when you interview a company.

I just got done going through the growing pains of learning how to interview and manage contractors for a project on my personal residence.

If this is strange territory or confusing I would consider interviewing a few CPAs/EAs going forward.

Regarding notice, mail and email are not recognized in civil process.

Ya I can tell by your response that your understanding of how these works needs a little tune up..I think before you launch into this you may want to go sit and pay for 1 hour of time with a good real estate attorney who will walk you through what is proper and what you need or what to look for.You don't put your name on the deed of trust unless your origination the loan right out of the gate.you take a security interest after the fact via an assignment.. which is normal and fine.If you want a referral to a lawyer there in Portlanida I have one that I can refer who does a lot of work for our company and is real estate specialist which includes loans.I will look at the website you posted as well and see if I recognize them

Ask to interview other realtors in the same firm who would not be going on a five-week vacation - and have the listing contract reassigned. 

However, I also recognize that she is a single mother with six year old daughter, so she want to feel sense of security.

@Jonathan M BourneFor the future economy worries:My boss has his "Three Immutable Laws of Real Estate Investing" that he formed from interviewing a TON of investors who lost out in 2007-2009. 

You do it by learning to recognize opportunities to add value that most others don't see. 

Currently, our structure of episodes is covering the real estate news for about 5-10 minutes and then interviewing a top authority in the area like politicians, city planners, investors, agents, lenders, or any other knowledgeable party in real estate.What other things would you be looking for an informational podcast about real estate specific to your area?