I tell people to fill out the application (free) but only pay for the background/credit check if they are seriously interested....it's non-refundable and I don't see a dime of that $$....its not a profit center for me and I don't have to go through the hassle of entering all the info.....and I never directly see their SSN etc....I have no hard records of their personal info, so I can't have any of that info stolen or used by me

If you lose it or it gets stolen, what do you do?

Is it right for us a the new owners to call authorities and report this stolen?

I put about another $7,000 into it (closing costs, appliances, paint, repairs, replaced the HVAC that had been stolen, etc). 

Well... if it was bitcoin he was talking about half of his investment has not been lost thanks to the delay.

One because it saves them the time of picking them up, two because they are not worried if they get stolen off the job site.

Maybe it was stolen.

Fees, interest, legal...The AC unit was stolen about 1.5 weeks ago and the house is looking abandoned.

I know if a debit card is stolen and used, the bank usually refunds the account right away.

Julia Rowling its SOP  (standard operating procedures) to not put any appliance's in these homes until the tenant moves in.. same with HVAC some times  condenser unit water heater etc etc.If you install them new and leave them for any length of time they will get stolen nearly 100% of the  time... this is why I have said many times that these types of investments just are not appropriate for anyone who does not do this for a living...