Of course it's all ******** and they are just looking for excuses not to pay. 

Maybe you can help the investors you meet with all the miscellaneous tasks involved with investing like picking up rent checks, turning over properties for new tenants, or even just driving by occasionally to make sure their properties are in good condition.I'd also recommend spending a lot of time looking at all the homes you're targeting in your area, both online and in person.

(TL;DR version: wholesaler from NYC got a property in Mississippi under contract, then ended up helping a scammer with a fake title company steal $10k earnest money from a buyer (according to what was written in the thread of course, I have no firsthand knowledge of what occurred).

Of course, he wants me to cover any closing costs.

At least until you have done your due diligence to understand the steps of being a landlord.Of course they want the address...They always want to see the property before being "prequalified"...There is salesmanship involved with finding a good tenant.

In 2021, after completing the BiggerPockets STR course and analyzing market data, we transitioned the property to a fully furnished premium short-term rental after the tenant moved out.

The median sale price increased month over month breaking the trend of decreasing median sale price the past two months.The rental market continued to moderate in Q3 2024 thanks in part to the increase in units being built. 1,815 units were completed in the year ending with Q3 2024 with 1,447 expected to be completed in the next four quarters.These new units brought online in the past year increased the overall inventory by 3.4%, however by Q3 2025 we anticipate demand to outpace supply by over 550 units.With this increase in units over the past year we have seen the occupancy rate moderate at 95.8%, down from the high of 98.9% in 2022.

Of course they should not have a shortfall, but Section 8 is far from what I would call guaranteed rent.

Is the 5 property ceiling (estimate, of course) because of debt to income ratio?

Now this creates a ton of work of course with pre sales and managing your buyers expectations.