Still do your due diligence on the condo. 

Don't get me wrong; there are plenty of issues/problems/quirks that old houses have that new houses don't, and an old house can obviously have hidden problems and big repair/maintenance bills too--which is why thorough due diligence is fundamental to REI...but, the point is: a brand new house is not a foolproof solution to repairs/maintenance headaches (and in some cases, a brand new house can be a much bigger gamble than an older house).This is a particularly important lesson for inexperienced investors, who tend to be the most prone to "shiny object syndrome" (the tendency to let nice aesthetics distract from real, underlying issues).

But as you know it became a fad and grew like wild fire and the deals were subscribing so fast that there was no way the investors could have done a minute of Due diligence and it played out EXACTLY like your describing..

@Martin Guerrero although you can (and often should) bring a GC with you (esp. if you plan to do a rehab), if you want to become a successful RE investor, you should make it a goal to become proficient at evaluating properties (meaning: evaluating problems with the property, likely costs to remediate problems, potential value add opportunities & associated costs, etc.).Ultimately, you want to become almost as good (or maybe even better) at evaluating properties as a GC and inspector.   ...Once you get to that level, you become an invaluable piece of your due diligence process, and your due diligence process involves three experienced pros (you, your GC, AND your inspector--which is much better than just a GC and inspector).  ...at that point, your due diligence process is multi-faceted and very robust (which is critical to success in RE investing)....you can make your due diligence process even more robust by adding an agent who is highly experienced in property rehabs, RE investing, and who understands how to evaluate properties.Good luck out there!

You always have due diligence to verify stuff.

I believe bad tenants cost you WAY more than a few $$/month, so make sure you have a plan to do your due diligence (credit, criminal, rental history, income verification).Also, I agree with @Patrick M.

They were scam artists.If you can talk to someone who knew there 15 years ago and verify their ID and corroborate their pay for everything in cash lifestyle, then you can make a decision after lots of diligence.

Cash buyers should have done their due diligence by then and agreed on the terms of the assignment which includes the minimum price agreed upon.What I’m talking about is before the walkthrough.

I have conducted my due diligence (license and referral checks and current project inspection) on contractors that I'm about to hire just to find out that the plumber doesn't offer W9 to customers.

Do your due diligence to determine if you do get what you pay for because not all property managers are created equal.