In the meantime, continue to save capital and build credit to further enhance your borrowing capability stature.

So no, you don't need a spouse to participate in the purchase of real property (with some exceptions), but that property will still be considered community property, and of course will also be considered by the courts in the event of a divorce.

They can cost you a sale by not participating in showings, not keeping the home show-ready, bad-mouthing the property to others, etc.

But sounds like you don't get to participate in the upside of the deal. 

After a few years, you might be able to build up enough to do a fractional loan (participate with others on one first position loan) if legal in your state, especially if both you and a spouse can contribute $7000 each per year for a while.  

I think you should follow the example of your insurance provider: they won't participate because they don't want the risk.I recommend you research this before moving forward.

Additionally, I would be interested to participate in any real estate group/meetup organized within CT - Please let me know how I can join. 

You'll find the most value by participating in the forums, which are free. 

Hi BP Forum,I am considering to participate in a real estate auction in San Diego. 

It's a combined portfolio (cash) now - meaning, existing investors benefit from distributions on the entire syndicate portfolio, and are not tied to particular/individual closings (whether they participated or not), but we (existing investors) don't want to dilute our seasoning/vesting, several years after the properties have gone up in value/equity and we're now able to do cash-out/blanket loans on the new valuations.