Still fairly safe neighborhood, lower middle to middle income. $100k to $200k houses, higher concentration of multi-family properties, and middle of the road apartments."

I am an agent, so was the buyer but this was a normal wholesale transaction

On the other hand it might be a very safe lien and you can count on earning your interest. 

Ben,I believe that there are two questions you have to answer, and then I'm going to respectfully disagree with one of the other suggestions you were given:First, (and I believe Jim identified this issue) is your transaction a true lease option or is it a deferral of part of the purchase price, including payment of a finance charge?

They can transact real estate, hire and fire RE agents, make and originate real estate loans, as well as sell them to the public.

If you intend to finance it, I would let the lender do the appraisal since the lender won't use yours (conflict of interest) and you'll be paying for the one they order.Ideally you would have a trusted advisor that has closed similar transactions and can guide you through the process.

By allowing people to run credit cards through a company account and then returning them the cash less transaction fees  to fund deals,  are you doing anything improper or illegal? 

Yes, Phoenix is safe to use 3%.

I've made over 40 transactions in the last 5 years in Montreal and I've never lost a penny, so it's hard for me to agree when people say there are no deals, and I also know a lot of people who succeed even better than my team and I.

I'm a local LV investor, and Realtor doing ~100 transactions per year so I have a good pulse on the market.