Right now you are betting on appreciation, which I hope happens for you.

I bet this tenant lists their birthday on their Facebook.I would absolutely require a credit report, rental history check, employment check, verified copies of ID, court record search, background search, etc. if someone wanting to rent from me wouldn't even provide their birthday.

In my opinion, the license can be a valuable tool, bet not necessary.

.- The best bet is to just get licensed and sell your own listings for the commission.- Or you can offer Short Sale leads for an upfront per-lead fee.

Commercial may be a better bet if it isn't listed commonly on the MLS.

If you can't quantify the risk you are taking than it is no better than bet.

What is your favorite sports team?

And, as to investors running around trying to get investors or sellers to give non-recourse financing, if that deals blows up my bet is that you'll be in hot water if there are significant losses.

@Konrad Lightner  Your best bet is to find another experienced local investor and find out who they are using for financing...A few reasons why...If shopping by rates - rates are usually not locked in for longer the 30-days, and the shorter the length of the lock the better the interest rate...15-Days are most common...you actually pay more to have a 30-day lock. 

I bet it would.