I just started investing in syndications last year for the first time because I wanted to give up operational control and I had fully vetted the operators based on my network and own interviews.

in a vast interview process with many steps before allowing someone to move in. a new roomie is an everyone-decision, not a landlord-only decision; if you're expecting people to co-exist in a space together (for longer than just a few months), you have to make sure they all have some things in common, or at minimum have the right expectations in terms of cleanliness and routine habits.someone working the night shift and someone else having a 5am rise-time, or someone who works from home in a call-center job is not going to jive well for example. and someone who doesnt handle conflict well is not going to jive with someone who is brutally honest and up front about issues. happy to go into more deets on how we do things if it will help. this can certainly be lucrative in terms of cash flow, but there are huge mud puddles i have stepped in over the years which i have had to learn to navigate.

Some lending attorneys now recommend interviewing your borrower in a recorded Zoom call, using scripted questions, to document their intentions.Your list and communication clause comments, @Jonathan Chan, appear to reflect a do-it-yourself approach.

Managed to steer clear of the fraud in Metro Detroit, but did get interviewed by the FBI once.

Regardless of how you find them, try to interview at least three managers.1.

I like to outsource that to a local expert.I call/interview property mangement companies in a city that I like and ask them to refer me to a real estate broker who works with investors.  

You just have to interview around.

They are even featured in articles, have been profiled and interviewed in the local media outlets, look really good online etc. and have a reputation around town as being highly successful because they have been busy buying a lot of units and making themselves look successful even while doing what I would consider very bad deals.It's smoke and mirrors. 

When interviewing inspectors, what questions should we be asking? 

I interviewed another Syndication and appreciated the fact they said 1) They never lost any of their investors money 2) They aren't currently entertaining deals until they are more solid on the market's direction.  3) their Exits are designed much shorter than ODCs.