Some areas are higher end for personal use while others are primarily for short term rentals.

You should make one trip to the area for 3 days and network in person.

Admittedly, they seem a bit sketchy,My question would be, for a person such as my self, how does one go about vetting these syndicates?  

You can try recruiting on LinkedIn, and you might come across the right person.

you can get financing witha  LLC but the lender will require a personal guarantee on the loan.

Personally, I've been in the mobile home investing space since 2007.

I would speak to lawyer and let them review the agreement maybe can do a class action and sue personally the managers if fraud.

The setup felt like a personal connection all in pursuit of getting your business.  90% of it was done by AI and the other 10% came when a live rep was available.

I work with a lot of MTR investors and what I am seeing frequently with multifamily acquisitions, particularly with new investors, is that they often test the property just like you're mentioning, as a way to dip their toes in the water and see what works in their area and for their personal style.

Management fees are steep, you're competing w/ bigger operators as well as mom & pop places - it's hard to get the personalized care needed, in my opinion, to be successful.