I would advise to find a lawyer or a attorney that specializes in real estate and throw a couple of bucks there way so that you can get their illegal advice and if you can legally charge them to replace it professionally 100% do that

Use other sources to find agents, i.e. investors that invest in that area.3.

@Megha Mathur You can find DSCR loans without a prepayment penalty, but there is an "interest rate penalty" for choosing that option.

It's also important to evaluate different loan options, such as conventional, FHA, or hard money loans, to find the best fit for your investment strategy.

Did you find a solution yet?

You have to be careful its not that these guys can beat you out of an upfront fee of 500 to 5000. but you have spent the time to find a deal you put up EM it maybe non refundable and when these guys just vanish without a trace your out what you paid them you lost your EM  your money on inspections and most important THE DEAL that was going to make you big bucks.

They offered assurances as to their high level of confidence in the applicant, but have provided any other info on the tenant.

Recommend Googling for recent projects, then looking them up at the city's online site to find out who the architects are.

I have been using the tools learning tools BiggerPockets provides to find deals and analyze deals. 

I think the deal has to be so bad for an investor to ask for this. you as an investor need to find an amazing deal for this conversation to never arise..good luck