Have you checked the BizBuySell website?

What checks and balances would you need to put in place to avoid this.I am a firm believer that you should tie any bonus to a metric that the company is trying to achieve.

If you want to buy REO properties, the easiest way to narrow the market is to check the "lender owned" box on MLS.

If not and you wrote them the check, then most likely the $ is gone and suing for that money will cost you more than $1000 unfortunately.So cancel the agreement and request the funds

Is anyone out there willing to be boots on the ground in Cleveland particularly old Brooklyn to check out the condition of a property?

Right now I am just checking what is out there.

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If you have a swimming pool check out the water pump system with aerial hoses.  

I'm assuming that this situation wouldn't pass inspection, but one could argue that all the spaces the guests have access to (i.e. bedroom, bathroom) are safe and habitable + the guests wouldn't be exposed to the kitchen.Also, do the city inspectors inspect other parts of the home the guests won't access (i.e. inspectors check the basement for water infiltration even though no guests would ever be living or even going down there). 

These people often don't understand lending and have a checklist of boxes to check.