It also cracks me up that Flint is on this list but not Detroit.Maybe they're filtering purely by numbers with no regard to the quality of the city/area?

I highly doubt she would be be able to doctor this to make it look as legit as it does.For the longest time I thought there was some type of “hack” people were using to make it appear payments were being made only to later be never received.

Can anybody offer insight for which things to be mindful of as part of our due diligence before purchase?

There is extraordinary differences on the legal/compliance side between the two.For a syndication, offering equity for investors is the most common way.There are many different fees and structures you can go with.I suggest learning the underwriting side of syndication deals before engaging an attorney.

We are very flexible and would highly appreciate any suggestions or recommendations you might have!

Then offer him a deal for $1500yr to keep it green instead a tractor storage facility.

@Megan Stone good to hear this attorney offering you excellent advice even though it isn't in their 'best interest'.I've always established my commercial RE LLCs in the state of the asset.  

Commercial lenders don't usually offer 'pre approvals' but will provide sellers with a letter of intent.

If for some reason I can't get a utility turned on, I assume that the utility itself inside the house is faulty and will need repair/replacement and adjust my offer accordingly.

I highly recommend local meetups, as you can meet other investors who have already gone through the wins and losses.