Of course, in their confusion, they may not have applied for the surplus within the required 60 days. 

It's all about taking what you've learned from past experiences and applying them to the future.

Obviously there are many exceptions to the rule mainly applying to excellent operators that understand this side of the business in major downtown mid to higher end hotels.

Maybe its actually applying that college degree.

If you're charging a flat fee for someone to assume a straight option, like a purchase agreement, that is not financing, from what you have described, IMO the SAFE Act issues would not apply to you.You could have issues with your option being valid, you need an option price and your fee would be to reimburse you for the option price and you fee.

When you sell a house the deed has to be recorded and the amount it's sold for is required to be disclosed so that's all public record....the same does not apply for rentals.

Not only that but they can apply to different types of lending activities, there are usually exemptions for regulated lenders like banks, but may they may still apply.

Most of what you need to learn applies everywhere (Inc is usually a poor choice for buy and hold).

Just took my 40 hour class and now going to start applying to take the state exam.

What I'm about to say is my opinion based on several factors; a. experience in reviewing thousands of RE transaction with respect to lending issues. b. legal aspects from personal experience and formal training and c. subjective judgment in applying learned experiences.