Those areas near Orlando are pretty saturated with investors in my opinion because people want to be close to Orlando, but pay less.

The fraudsters use a portion of the money they collect from investors to pay the sellers their commissions.

@Karolina Powell I’m a huge fan for tenants paying their own heating.

By the time you pay for shipping and mistakes you will not be saving any money.

Ideally we would like to avoid paying someone's mortgage, but is investing while renting in our current location a wise move? 

They aren’t moving to pay the same.

There are obviously fake accounts offering ridiculous terms that stand out like a flashing neon billboard.Also, the countermeasures are pretty simple: "Don't pay anyone for ANYTHING up front!"

The tenant who wants to return has also been a very good paying and clean tenant.

With LLC we pay the $800 CA franchise fee every year, correct?

If this tenant is actually a friend, surely they'll understand your position and either pay the higher rent or find another place so you can get up to market rents.