They have rental markets researched and examined to the Nth degree because they have the resources to do so.

Will my allowed unlicensed experience combined with RE certificate and BS Biz degree qualify me? 

Do they have a college degree?

Terms will vary mostly on the deal, and to some degree, your personal experience, credit etc.A new investor putting a small amount down may be paying 13-15% and 5 points.A very experienced investor putting 30% down may pay 9-10% and 5 points.Mid-range of experience will fall between the two.Of course, the specifics of the deal drive everything, so even those numbers can vary widely.If you are doing fix and rent, plan on a refi to better terms at the 12 month point.

I have a degree in Information Systems from a great university and don't doubt I could find another job, although I have other career paths I'm interested in exploring such as Real Estate and Fitness.

Each one will have its own degree of appreciation.

A/B properties here are going to be around 0.75%, but some with high appreciation potential and the majority with a lower degree of tenant risk.   

Notes can vary in language and thus have some degree of variance in legal enforcement but there are uniform state and federal bodies of law surrounding those ideas.  

The difference is that you will negotiate the terms of the loan with the seller (interest rate, down payment, length of the loan, etc are all pretty much negotiable to whatever degree the seller is willing to accept.  

The days of “I will find the deal and do all the work, you put up all the money, and we will split the profits 50/50” are long gone, at least when you’re dealing with investors with any degree of sophistication.  80/20 splits are basically the standard. 50/50 over the preferred return is possible; those economics work out to something close to 80/20.