My letter arrived just before they contacted an agent (and kinda made them suspicious).  

With this kind of cash transfer wouldnt it flag paypal as suspicious activity?  

Hey Everyone,We are in the process of taking over the management of a vacation rental we have in the Poconos and a prospective guest asked about booking it for 28 nights but he wants a virtual tour first.I’m assuming a virtual would have to be done outside of Airbnb’s platform and sounds suspicious.

I am glad I did it this way and didn't do anything suspicious or jeopardizing of my integrity, it really would not have been worth it in the long run.What would I have differently? 

In addition to the usual alarm system, smart home systems notify the house's owner of suspicious activity.

Crazy.I'm a notary (in CA) myself so I hate to be suspicious of anyone in my own field, but seems sketchy to me because it took so long to call back and then the journal was lost/stolen???

Should I be suspicious about receiving a request for rental application from someone who I have not yet spoken to much less even shown the property to?

If this is the case, I would be very suspicious.

 I looked at a 2 unit with my agent that was on the market for 98 days. My agent brought along someone with her and introduced him to me as another investor and her brother. I went to put an offer in on the property. ...

Let us figure out ARV.Sorry but it just sounds suspicious when someone wants me to believe their ARV with no details.