No, it's not a normal business practice and does not pass the smell test.From driving? 

one of my clients that has a pretty big PM company.. had a unique way of doing this.He offered 50% of the first months rent or 500.00 minimum.. he would have 4 or 5 agents at the weekly meeting handout the list of vacants .. each of them would go place a sign in the yard and first come first served.. he found that potential tenants would call the first sign if no answer they called the next one until finally someone answered.. it worked pretty awesome for him. 

Split the $20 to buy yourself lunch and dinnerIf you are on the road, daily per-diem should cover a lot of your day to date living costs.If they send you on the road, you can potentially airbnb your house.Best of luck!

.- Optional Benefit: If you believe an elevation certificate shows your property is at a lower risk than FEMA's assessment, you can submit one to potentially lower your premium.

Hey, congrats on finding a potential flip—it sounds like you’re on the right track!

And I have had two potential opportunities "fall into my lap" that involve inherited properties that need major remodels to be able to compete in the MTR market. 

Or if you wanted to sell a rental to make the $200k from selling- you'd have to pay capital gains, and unrecaptured depreciation tax and potentially depreciation recapture. 

Private money lenders are not always individuals (my company, for example), nor do they confine their lending practices to friends, family, and other investors they know.

Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice.

There are plenty of investment opportunities in the Detroit area as well which have the potential to offer immediate value, so I would weigh your options with care.