Everyone I've talked to thought it was extremely unusual for a broker to do. 

It's not at all unusual to find garbage places built the 1970s that have much worse and chronic problems than a place built with care in 1920.In buy-and-hold, your job is always to pick places that have investment longevity, that can be renovated, in areas that will most likely appreciate.

I would tell him that that is an unusual request and he should have notified me before we executed and make it plain that I"m unhappy and offer to let him out of the lease.

It is certainly appropriate for you to require verification and if the person is pushing back, move on.The one with the woman contacting you in behalf of her son, that's not unusual for an initial inquiry but at this point, tell her you don't rent through third parties and he needs to contact you directly.

@Tim Bee usually I am trying to find buy and hold deals that are returning 10%+My expenses are usually minimal - public electric, RE taxes (PHILA taxes aren’t super high), insurance.Tenants are responsible for the rest: water, landscaping, snow removal, utilities, etc.I invest in small multi family usually duplexes, so having the tenant responsible for those items is not unusual.

The IRS typically selects returns for audit based on unusual or suspicious patterns, not the sheer length of a return.

When it was all said and done, we figured it was easier if we deposited one check in the beginning.There are other cases where I got such requests, though unusual, but not a red flag in all cases.I thought post dated check were illegal or is that just my lovely state of MA again ?

Being stuck with unusuable property is the opposite of what I'm going for!

Unless there's a VERY unusual situation, anybody wanting to sell just lists their home with a real estate agent.  

Is it unusual for landlords to buy with cash?