Nice tip! 

Any guidance/ tips on how to proceed would be very appreciated.

Any guidance/ tips on how to proceed would be very appreciated. 

I was nearly scammed by a seller in the US who I met in person, met his "associates", toured the property with and everything, but my tip off to do more research was that he was against using a third party to hold funds in escrow even when I said I would personally pay all associated fees and noted that it would not delay closing at all. 

Not all that glitters is gold. 

Feel free to reach out if you want to chat or have any tips for a newcomer like me!

Any tips on doing this and not looking like an idiot while doing so are MUCH appreciated.

If someone is fearful, trying to convince them to be optimistic and invest is like trying to convince a devout catholic that god isn't real.Lenders are another can of worms, but similar to the investors.  

Two other small pieces of advice that are gold, as far as I'm concerned:After you've covered the basics ask, "Is there anything you can tell me off the record?" 

You can not do that with many other assets like stocks or gold. they are what they are.