Better to lose a strangers money than your mom's.Use your own money and borrowed money until you learn the ropes.

If it is a scam, it could be as simple as you paying for the rehab of a property a stranger owns.So in the morning start calling the best real estate lawyer you can find.

I'm an engineer too (or rather a grad student in mechanical engineering) and it is far more comfortable for me to talk about that with strangers than real estate investing.

Don't be a stranger and don't be afraid to reach out and personally connect with any and everyone.

So yes BP is anti paid training bias for sure but its not all well founded.. there is only so much you can learn listening to a bunch of strangers advice or listen to a pod cast or reading a blog.. most of it is just feel good.. not much is nuts an bolts you will learn more about how to make money in RE hanging with a top producer in your new REal Estate office than learning it here is my opinion. 

@Robert Andrade Yes, that's perfectly normal and 98% of the time you'll need to have the P&S signed by both parties to have inspections in the first place (would you let a stranger come and poke around your house to create a report for another private citizen under any different circumstance?). 

Looks like it was podcast 140.If you are willing to live with strangers, that podcast or that presenter might have some good ideas to help you find tenants.

If you are uncertain as to whether they would deem it as Fraud or not then that is whom you must ask not strangers on the inter web.

Don't be a stranger!  

Growing relationships is one of the best investments we can ever make, so don't be a stranger!