The masterminds often encourage students to finance the new-car like entrance fees on a credit card, on the promise of just a single deal covering all the entrance costs. 

They provide fake checklists saying units are repaired according to agreed-upon inspection reports only to walk in to a home that is more damaged than it was during escrow.

Run credit and background checks, actually call the listed referrals, and ask for bank statements.

She didnt, and two weeks after going under contract, we got a credit-monitoring notification that this mortgage had gone delinquent.

There are loan programs that will do a 20% down payment with a 680 or above credit score. 

If you have equity and decent credit, a conventional Fannie Mae HomeStyle (or the Freddie Mac version) would likely be the better option instead of an FHA 203k loan (which will require a 3rd party HUD consultant to oversee the deal in addition to having the contractor involved). 

Quote from @Argel Algura: Hey Bigger Pockets Community,A year ago I wrote about rebuilding and starting over in life and considering real estate investing as a path (see post here: "Bad credit, minimal cash and starting over in life . . .

If you're focusing on rural properties, sometimes local community banks or credit unions are open to these types of deals.

Including damages to properties that I will have to use my own money to fix, 2 years of missed rent and damages and legal fees amount to $75K - $80K.

@Ben CallahanRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?