You have every right to be an informed consumer, and know what you are paying for.

Does Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act Apply to Landlords that own fewer than 5 properties? 

This is going to mean fewer options for tenants so that is going to decrease accessibility.

These lenders are much fewer as it takes significant effort and additional funds to foreclose on a 2nd lien and take out the first position on the collateral property to get their money back. 

.- Time Savings: Managing rental properties can be time-consuming, especially when handling tenant inquiries, maintenance requests, and lease renewals.

Generally - you can make a referral fee on these types of loans if they are 100% purely business purpose - a lot of the restrictions and issues come from anything consumer-related. 

Quote from @Eva Green: Real estate investing can indeed feel overwhelming with scattered information and time-consuming processes.

Try to do all you can to be an informed consumer. 

The consumer doesn't have the ability to file an E&O claim against the agent, only the person who ha the policy can make a claim.

If you're concerned with interest, you could do a consolidation exchange and  purchase fewer properties for cash using the proceeds of several old properties sold for cash  without taking out a loan and let those work for you till interest rates are in your favor.