any "real world" scenarios anyone can provide?  

As I said I am fairly new to the REI world so I may not be fully articulating the information you need to help answer my question so please just ask and I'll help clarify the deal or follow up with my realtor for more recent info. 

It sounds like you are very close to making your first big step into the world of REI.

Sure there were some big cases, like Microsoft, but those things are still going on in the IT world.  

Any feed back would be great  Feel free to PM me if you'd like...my brother Dan and I created the Funding For Flipping brand to promote unsecured credit funding to the real estate investor world. :-) It is legitimate, but like any funding method, has its pros and cons.

These guys have a hundred transactions under their belt, they know who consistently delivers what they claim, reliably and on time, and who promises the world but fails to deliver.

and...2) What are some words of advice for screening different people in the real estate world - put another way, what are some types/people to be wary of or avoid altogether?

Work a job and dip your toe into the rei world.

I have a handful of rentals, but still consider myself new to the real estate investing world.

What do you think BP world?