And always check social media for red flags and I agree with Vince, always meet a person.  

I have known and worked with Matt for years.I have attended his training and hired him as a consultant.He is hands down the best at what he does.I have personally raised over $50 million for my hard money lending company.I am grateful for a lot of people who helping me with this success and Matt is at or near the top of that list.

I've done enough personal home projects to know, if I find a deck company it'll be 2k, but a GC will charge me 2.5k to over see it...

So PLEASE don’t make another huge financial decision and then tell that same person after you do it.

I'm going to exclude my personal residence from this because I don't view this as an investment, I need a place to live.Excluding my primary residence my current breakdown is 47% real estate 53% stocks/cash. 

Explore my personal favorites, Set For Life by Scott Trench or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, for invaluable financial insights.3.

We make people take photos of themselves holding their ID and then I also meet them in person for the showing - at least for my units on the NW side of Chicago.I've never heard of these testers, but I am not surprised. 

I'm never going to use your website because I already have personal relationships with people doing that work.

Avoiding accessive PM fees (personally I recommend most people self-manage)These will eat away at your ROI.

Perhaps there is a relevant book or podcast that you could suggest to expand my knowledge in this area.Considering you're experience with creative finance deals, which you mentioned previously, I am keen to hear about your personal insights and experiences.