The primary form of diligence we see on the forums is "what do you think of XYZ sponsor and deal" whereas the common form of diligence in the space by institutional investors, large investment groups, family offices, and sophisticated investors involves following the sponsor for years, underwriting the deals, validating rent comps, background checks on the general partners, and a host of other diligence that materially de-risks the investments.  

Unfortunately social media has become a tool that's made it easier for many of these investment companies to get in front of their targets and suspect they invest heavily in SEO services  to get in front of the desired clients (those who lack the sophistication or resources/ability to conduct proper diligence).

A bit about me: I’m a payroll manager for a restaurant group, where I handle everything from creating policies and SOPs to processing payroll and ensuring compliance with state and federal laws.

We were always juggling who was on the phone.We had at most 2 employees on our payroll at one time, so if one called out sick there was a very good chance we needed to go in and cover.

Folks are just trying to drum up business, some do it well, other's aren't as sophisticated about it. 

And it is very straightforward to file these, so I would expect it to be well within the scope of any operator sophisticated enough to pull off an owner financed deal. 

The sky’s the limit, however, depending on the sophistication and the amount of due diligence help you request. 

Basically he sends a list of material needed and for payroll.  

Since I am new to this space, I would prefer to have as safe of an investment as possible then graduate to the more sophisticated. 

Your short term loan your paying in full with your payroll and not amortizing for say 25 years.