Also stay away from scam artist and people wanting to sell you "junk".

How to evaluate if this is genuine and not a scam?

This is about issues much more likely to encounter in D/F neighborhoods. 

Assuming having all exposed brick walls are way way cheaper than drywall, what problems might I encounter with having exposed brick walls?

What surprises might I encounter?

I’ve founded a very successful maid and janitorial service that I sold years ago and would be happy to make sure that you don’t get scammed.

Do you close or scam your way out of the contract if you cannot find an end buyer?

I've been a landlord for 10 years, just sold 2 other rentals in the past few years after a decade of being abused and tortured by everyone from tenants to (especially) contractors, vandals, tax appraisers and scam artists utility companies. 

We fell for this scam and signed the contract.

(sorry his name escapes me) I think I would have heard if it was a scam.