I've encountered several other people that have done it too.

My in-laws are getting ready to sell their house in Vegas, and I'm wondering what kind of market they'll encounter right now.

Find a good PM and they should have a rock solid lease that covers every sticky issue they've encountered over time.

What type of issues did you encounter in regards to those deals?

In addition, the double standard deduction is a scam, especially for families with children.

I am very skeptical of anyone looking for investor apprentices, loads of scams out there. 

How exactly does it apply to real estate investing and on what types of real estate deals would you encounter it (flips, buy and hold, wholesale, etc)?

It's not a "guru" thing or some silly scam, it's too simply Respect the Business and go into something properly rather than because a commercial said to you that you can rich from real estate (which I agree with you is total hog wash).  

From what I’m hearing is that rent to own a home can be a scary scam.

Forget web-based sellers of lender lists, most/all of which are scams, and multi-state far away lenders, who likely have no understanding of you or your area and might not be sympathetic to any problems you might have after you’ve borrowed the money.Do prepare a list of questions for your prospective lender.