Two of the Three complexes I own were rehabbed in 2015 with all major systems replaced and I verified with permits and contractor invoices.

(I verified that It's valued at 1.1million)and that the original loan was for 500k in 2007 so apparently it's appreciated pretty well.

They can, and will, but you have to get the settlement statements a few days early, so you can get the title co the check, and they have time to verify the check is valid.

I naively thought the PM would do their annual inspections and did not verify that they actually did so that is indeed big lesson learned for me.

So I came across a great deal that I'm still working/verifying the numbers for.

The appraisal should be coordinated by the bank that is loaning the funds for the purchase.I would strongly recommend using a buyer's agent, and they might also be able to verify that you are paying a fair price, and handle all of the nuances of the sale (purchase agreement, inspection, might be able to recommend a title company for the closing, etc).

First step is to verify the total due on the loan.

Those who make blanket statements that they would never put real estate in an IRA are getting caught up with tax-theory purity and not looking at the actual numbers - which is what really matters.

We'll just verify employment and it shouldn't be an issue." 

But based on my criteria I would tell them that we require 3x's the rent in verifiable income with 3 consecutive pay stubs.