Fraud can be difficult but it is really about verifying everything you can, had a PM who received a false W2 from a tenant and never bothered to call the employer to confirm.

That person needs to verify that the parties are who they claim to be. 

Verify licenses and insurance being current.

Of course there is not time or resources to verify, so I get it.To play devils advocate, we need to rescue some big businesses like airlines.

Best ways to vet: #1 verify with licensing board that the contractors license is active and all necessary insurances are up to date.

@Frank Agyeman-Duah get an estoppel certificate from the landlord and tenants verifying monthly rent, deposits and any verbal agreements. 

Verifying reference phone numbers and previous /present addresses etc took 10 minutes, this is normal in most cases.

One of them he suggested offering full price with a contingency of the seller putting 30k in escrow for repairs.I'm curious about how escrow would work in this scenario.Is there someone that would verify the money is only used for repairs?

They could come off as nonchalant, saying it's cash flowing, that it's profitable, that it's a steal of a deal, but you should always take Ronald Reagan's quote to heart: trust, but verify.  

In addition, I strongly recommend that you verify all licenses and Insurance Policies. 1.