The evidence of questionable activity for me was when they called and said the place was infested with bugs, they went to the ER with "bugs coming out of their skin".  

That being said, I am an attorney and I have seen many judges find ways around binding a party to a contract where the other party had 'no skin in the game.' 

Assuming all is well and the tenant is a qualified buyer, I then advised her that she needs to secure the non-refundable option fee up front of at least 2.5% with the remaining 2.5% to be paid on an instalment contract and held in escrow over the lease option term so that the tenant buyer can prove to the bank that they have "5% skin in the game" when the time comes to be approved for a mortgage.

It all looks very good on the surface and I'm tempted to do it. 

If enough moisture/water is present, it WILL penetrate/saturate even the concrete floor and work its way into the wall framing and through most any wall surface you choose.

I really appreciate it and my takeaway was that this was a deal where, on the surface looked like a creative and doable deal, in reality, it was much more complicated for a "first timer" and should be for a more experienced investor.

It is a very enticing deal on the surface with only 10% down and the seller holding the note but just make sure the numbers work. 

So I haven't even scratched the surface yet.There are guys out there that are head and shoulders above me in knowledge and guys who are head and shoulders above them.I remember, a few years back, I sat with a small group listening to a veteran investor named Andy.  

There are multiple ways to skin a cat (even though I do not condone such behavior, lol).My personal preference is to create assets that cover my expenses.

That only scratches the surface with cost seg strategies, but it a relevant example.