I want to give them the benefit of the doubt they are just struggling with staffing but now have seen some red flags that lead me to believe there might also be some type of deceit/fraud and possible financial trouble.

On the other hand if they are a sponsor that is experienced in stopping a skin in the game, that's a huge red flag for me.c) how open to scrutiny are they?

Donating money to large (FEMA, Red Cross), local organizations or Go Fund Me pages would be the quickest way.

They were already $75 billion in the red (IIRC) and now this....Even with Federal money, the state is going to have to chip in a lot of $$$ and they just don't have it.e) I saw US Senators this am on TV promising to assist with aid to CA, but ONLY if CA changes it's policies towards, water acquisition and Forestry Mgmt.

Too much red, too much equity that could be used better.

I don't really want to invest in a D-class area.Tangentially, what are some of your "it's time to sell this property" red lines when it comes to the changing economic conditions of an area? 

(and be able to buy themselves a new Porsche with the proceeds)Just more Red Tape!

Legitimate lenders may charge a small application fee (around $250) to verify you’re serious, but if someone’s asking for thousands with no real intention of closing, that’s a huge red flag.On a more positive note, there are creative financing approaches out there.

For anyone considering this, it’s probably worth consulting with a local land-use attorney or planner to navigate the specifics and make sure you’re maximizing the opportunity without running into red tape.

The fact they ask you to do this is not only a red flag for obvious reasons, but also because, they should know better how risky this is for you and if they had true good intentions they would have understood that and not offer you that option.What you can do is tell them..