By recognizing the signs and implementing effective preventative measures, landlords and property managers can protect themselves from potential scams.

Hi Dyanne,What’s your plan to protect your wealth when the market takes a turn?

However, since you put the asset into an LLC, I am going assume you care about asset protection and further this discussion just a bit.My advice to you is to seek out local banks where much of their business is derived from commercial lending.

exactly I fund wholesalers in SC all the time.. its a boon to my business  :)  these laws are sweeping the nation.. its consumer protection U just have to many deals go wonky and complaints are filed so regulators are finally taking notice to this acitivty..

The reality is they are using the investors money for the downpayment, they are getting a huge 80% loan that is non-recourse and they have the private offering to protect them with full disclosure in case the market drops. on the way up investors make 30% easy and even the syndicator will brag about it and will tell the confused investors who cannot even calculate IRR on their own to stay with them as they roll their invested money plus returns forward through a 1031 exchange and now they got even more units to brag about.

Here is my simple Top 5:1.Review the market – Understand the trends and conditions in the area.2.Analyze the property and the numbers – Ensure the deal makes financial sense.3.Visit the property – There’s no substitute for seeing it firsthand.4.Meet the team – Whether it’s your property manager, builder, or contractor, relationships matter.5.Complete inspections and appraisals – These protect you from costly surprises.If all these boxes are checked and the numbers work for your goals, then it’s likely a solid deal.

Also, take as many pictures as possible before the tenant moves in, again this protects you in case of damage caused by tenant. 

Now, I see you are in Seattle, which much like Portland, has extensive tenant protections.

They are designed to protect the seller (I have disclosed this), but not to substitute an inspection by the buyer.Sellers can only disclose what they have knowledge of.

This gives much better diversification protection across geographies, asset types, strategies, investment subclasses etc. versus putting all the eggs into one basket.The downside is that it's not for everyone, and a person has to be comfortable with turning over control to someone else.