At that point his interests were squarely aligned with the interests of his scam company, not the investor.

By eliminating the cost-plus expense, I can better control expenses and keep our interests aligned.

Explain to the your goals & approach, & if they align, & have time for you as a client, work them to find out if an LLC is the right approach. 

I also only sign up a PM if their compensation is aligned with the financial performance of the property (e.g. % of rent collected vs monthly flat fee). 

The City Council voted on Dec. 17, 2019 to update San Jose's zoning code pertaining to ADUs to align with new California State laws that go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

For the most part, people have been very helpful and it's easy to figure out who the posters are that align with your goals and visions. 

This is a mechanism used to make sure general partners are aligned with the limited partners, but are not a good indicator of your true return, so I wouldn't put too much weight on this.

Then see if his goals align with your plan, and after a few visits say, hey John Doe, i have this deal, can i have your advice on if you think it is a good deal, and something that you would conciser putting your money down on?

Might need some extra considerations: 1) the market will have to appreciate (Austin is HOT so very possible). 2) will need to find realtor willing / able to discount commission.3) house might need cosmetic updates to align with whatever next summers home design trends are.  

Not bad, but just not aligned with one's expectations.