Don't let business decisions affect your relationship--sometimes you're going to have to decide to do something that will be taken hard, most often it's conversations that must be had that could be offensive.

Maybe you have a KILLER website and he's unsophisticated enough to believe you have a lot of knowledge and experience in the industry (hard to believe, but possible....) or maybe he's a shark looking for an easy meal in a shallow pond.No offense to you and your eager desire to get into real estate, but this guy sounds like a scammer. 

Invite an expert in to provide estimates of how much it will cost to restore the unit to its original condition. keep copies of the bids for court case. file with the police department there might be criminal mischief charges that could be filed.

I can get basic screening results for combined report of eviction, criminal and credit in less than a day from the online screening company I use.

My process:Credit check, criminal check, social security verification, former Landlord verification, employment verification, look in prospect’s car, I make the calls and fax the necessary verification paperwork, spend lots of time talking to the new prospect.

Can anyone recommend a tenant screening service that does a good job with a national criminal background check?

we will become just like Japan  Singapore and other countries that have to import labor.. but I suppose in a more controlled manner.. welcome in the out of country labor just document them and do keep the criminals out.. there is a seedy side to all this as you know.

As of right now, we're free to discriminate as much as we want on the basis of criminal background and income. 

Under a full guardianship that means we are untimately responsible for everything, income, expenses, housing and medical decisions, taxes, debts, mortgages, wills and estate planning, suing or being sued, investments, real property, unique asset liquidations like oil/gas leases, coins, fine art, notes, cars, foreign real estate, boats, wine, financial exploitation investigations including forensic accounting, criminal and civil trial testimony and recovery of funds when we are lucky, budgeting for liquidation of assets in order to fund medical and care expenses, (I could go on for hours); basically everything you can think of in your life... imagine someone else having to do that for you because you're incapacitated.In my work I'd estimate I've been involved in the sale of 300-400 properties, maybe 100 probate cases and many hundreds of guardianship and DPOA cases.  

I get the syndication route... and its soup de jour for a lot of folks trying their first ones.however there is EXTREME risk in this as a sponsor.. and that is downside risk.. if you have a market move against you .. ( and they do were do you think distressed assets come from in the first place)your personal liability to your investors is very high.. to the point of being dragged into lawsuits and many end up robbing Peter to pay Paul to keep it going then get criminally charged..