Quote from @Dereck Olson: Hi Nicholas,  Just a thought from the possible tenant's perspective, but filling out a prequalification form and/or providing personal information before they have even seen a place and know if they will be interested in living in the property might be a bit too much to ask. 

It appears these investors merely provided unsecured loans to RAD who in turn purportedly made loans, although its unclear if that ever happened.

@Marc Zak Using an LLC for each property provides strong liability protection by isolating risks to individual assets, with income and expenses flowing through to your personal taxes on Schedule E.

Provide them proof of your ability to find, fix, flip (or whatever strategy you plan to use), and then start with small amounts of their money.

An unencumbered outlook is therefore necessary to provide some comfort in the gnarly world of distressed property.

where can we find places-websites to analyze areas that will provide positive cash flow?

Be sure to check out the free tools BP provides to help analyze deals you may have and also market insights.

I can provide support of checking in on contractors, staging rental properties, walk potential leads to give you an idea of the property in person or what the area is like, meeting with agents, and drafting scope of work for projects. 

Hopefully, one of them can reach out to provide further assistance and insight into what you're trying to accomplish in real estate. 

Quote from @Danielle Levy: Lesson learned: provide the full story up front and you'll get better advice.If you feel there's a case, put together all the evidence.