This case has been around for a while and discussed in this thread, shortly after the SEC charged them civilly: $1.2 billion real estate investing ponzi schemeInept indeed.I still wonder why anyone would try to defraud someone using an investment that’s a matter of public record.

His other line items I'll ask to only give him enough to get materials and pay him once project starts, and the remaining of the 30% based on work progress, so I can protect my own assets.

Any contributions you make to the LLC in the form of capital contributions should be recorded as owner transfers and transactions should be limited to business expenses and activity only in order to maintain the liability protections.

The estoppel would protect you in that scenario.

I often break it down into the "five pillars" of protecting your assets.

Once you have some assets to protect you may want to think about getting an LLC and/or a good liability insurance policy. 

The chances of them protecting your best interests is slim. 

I'm in San Diego and the SD parking Enforcement website addresses illegal parking in public areas, and vehicles abandoned on public or private property for 30 days, but if they're living in it for that time I wouldn't think it would be abandoned.

@Keleen Culberson Raising Private Capital by Matt Faircloth (a BP publication) is a great read.

All the info is out there for public consumption.