They left tons of stuff (damaged / broken) for me to clean with tags on this stuff labeled "stays here" (broken computers, mattresses, box springs, an old broken dryer, etc) - indicating intentional.If I had an actual security deposit - I at least would have been able to cover some of the damages / unpaid rent. 

pick one you like. drive to it. explore, talk to PMs, GCs, other investors, realtors. go to coffee shops. walk at night. look at 100 properties. go to REIA meetings.a lot of people want to sit on their computer and Zillow their way to success. 

Getting a degree is not totally necessary but one that can bring income is good like engineering or computer tech.

They even apologized that they had computer issues. 

I wouldn't know, since I couldn't afford a computer because it costs around $3000 for a complete system, WITHOUT A MODEM.I'm posting this in hopes that it helps you to understand this is not a new strategy.

Once I did receive it, it looked like something I would have made in my middle school computer class in the 1980s. 

Usually spending a few minutes skip-tracing and talking to anyone I can find with knowledge of the property uncovers the fraud if it is indeed a fake seller (most often the number that my skip-tracing software computes is different than the one the scammer is using and when I call it I get the real owner who is surprised to hear that someone is selling their property).

As property manager we have the right and the physical and electronic safety guards to capture their SS number if they have one (this required an on site visit to our office to verify that each computer was password protected, that we had locking file cabinets etc).

I’m Lauren, a professional with a background in web development, IT, and teaching computer science.

This was before the days of getting on your computer and easily finding out who owns the property.