I figured that place was as good as sold IF the offer was legit, but it's been 2 weeks and the property is still active.

The platform 'vision' reminds me more of incumbent microloan providers like Kiva or P2P lending platforms like prosper or lendingClub... except they overlook that this is an equity offering, as opposed to debt or secured lending.

Once you see that they are legit (after you do 1-2 deals with them, become more experienced and verify everything with your contractor) then I'd trust them a little more.

A question for the future is , will there ever be a tipping point of too many different social media platforms?

Is there a legit trademaek express co?

This could be totally legit, but it occurred to me that it would make a pretty good scam if they wanted to keep some of the rent - I've never met the tenant, never seen a rent check, and a copy of the lease could be changed easily.How can I tell for sure if they're sending me all the rent?

With around a month to go before you need to rent it, it sounds like you haven't put forth the full effort to find a tenant.If the guy seems legit, I would simply tell him that you would be fine writing up a lease at your listed rent right now, otherwise you will continue to market it for the next month or month and a half and you MIGHT come down a little bit on the rent if you can't find somebody willing to pay the full amount.I would be careful as there usually isn't as much demand for higher end rentals in a new construction area.

There may be other ways to make money (fix and resell, condo conversion), but on a cash flow basis, this one is a loser.For a project like this to be legit, there is a LOT of paperwork needed.

You have Fannie Mae which is Home Path and Freddie Mac which is Home Steps.If it's his girlfriend it's not family but generally you must disclose.There should be an owner occupied period for Home Steps.You CAN just as in HUD submit an investor offer before the investor period opens up and then you already have your offer in but it won't be considered until the bid period ends.If she is buying after the owner occupant period it should not matter.If she is buying before that time she is most likely committing loan fraud and will end up in prison.If for a fact you know that same person is buying in the owner occupant period and signing that they intend to occupy the home then they are committing fraud.It's hard to know what is going on without being there.It could be legit or not depending on the timing and disclosure in buying the property.

If you find a great broker/agent they can find you the deals.If you have a lazy broker/agent they can cost you and make you lose out on deals.BIGGEST MISTAKE you can make in my opinion is buying in the wrong area and paying too much going in for a property.Especially starting out you need that capital to perform and grow at maximum potential to take advantage of low interest rates and favorable market pricing.If you buy right you have a jumping off platform for other properties.If you buy wrong you have a mistake they can stifle your investing for years.If you think competition is bad now wait in a few years when all the news channels say real estate is on the rise again causing a run up in pricing.