It's the easiest way to try being a landlord without dealing with tricky renovation projects.

We bought cars for single moms, dug wells for orphanages, bought gifts for AIDS camps in Jamaica and in early 2008 we were both told to give it all for 6 months to a couple we had known for a long time who had suffered some catastrophic setbacks. 

I think this is the gift and the curse of a still emerging asset class (short term rentals) - as it becomes more "institutional" i.e. more like commercial real estate with more sophisticated buyers then financials and systems for this will likely become more streamlined and stable, but we are still in a place where the buyer pools are more newish investors or typically residential basic investors, so not has experienced or sophisticated evaluating investments based on a detailed financial analysis like more seasoned commercial investors likely would.anyways, just a guess on what might be going on here

Wholesaling is the easiest barrier to entry, then single family home investing, and commercial would be a bit harder.Then, you need to look for mentors in your niche.

I say this because they are always going to do the easiest thing which is say it needs replacement.   

It's not uncommon for Class A rentals to negative cashflow for the first 3-5 years, until rents increase at a higher rate than taxes & insurance increase.While this can be an unpleasant situation, Class A properties tend to appreciate the most and attract the best/easiest tenants.

the easiest way to find out if guy is legit or not is checking their office address.

The only thing you can safely give them is a "gift" of merchandise not to exceed $50 in value.

Easiest way is the Tate method.

Google Kumulori.com to see book.Is this a good type of local gift product for Airbnb and hotels?