@David Faulkner thank you for this re assurance, i mentioned this to agent and he agreed that we need to see appraisal yet this puts me at some ease. $359k would make me a very happy man.

When I initially asked several banks about this, they all seemed clueless except for Citizens Bank which assured me that they knew what I was talking about.

I would not give them assurances over something I can't control.

2) What should the woman have looked for in the way of assurances?

When we do loans we have to communicate with the PM and I assure you from our perspective it’s clear what property managers operate like a well oil machined and the others that most likely are providing inferior results and services to their clients.  

An attorney will assure you are abiding by the federal and state laws.

You must walk your own path, what works for 1 does not assure working in your markets or by yourself.

I let escrow close it how they close sub 2 deals, got lots of assurance from my title rep and reminded myself I was putting in $40k and getting a good return. 

This both assures investors of their safety and addresses their concerns prior to the investment, so it can actually be a good selling point when a client of mine wants to set up a deal and is looking for additional investors.When looking for an attorney you want to find someone with expertise in real estate investing specifically, as those attorneys will have the most expertise and be able to create the most streamlined entities for you.This isn't legal advice, just my opinion as a real estate investor.

I intend on hiring a property management company so that I can rest assured that things are being taken care of.